Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62522
WINEMAKING that lets shot berries and raisins fall out. Hunnicutt doesn't charge clients for using this automated shaker. The final sorter is a P&L belt sorter where bad berries can be removed; like the first sorter, it can accommodate six operators. The winery generally contracts with Maldonado Services for workers. The press, a small Bucher RPF 22 blad- der press, handles all wines, but the win- ery may buy another larger press because of the time involved with whole-cluster pressing of white grapes. Reverse osmosis for H2 0 Fermentation options include small stain- less steel tanks as well as stainless barrels. crush), and utilize three different sorting methods to remove undesirable fruit. The first sorter is a P&L manual incline sorter used to remove bad clusters, leaves and material other than grapes. The second sorter is a Le Trieur shaker table Winery water comes from wells dug by Don Huckfeldt. A reverse-osmosis system provided by North Coast Water Works removes silica from the water. The winery had to get a permit to dig the well and monitors its usage. The winery has separate drain- age systems for rainwater and winery wastewater, which it stores in two tanks. The East Bay Municipal Utilities District carries it away and mixes it with its wastewater. As a custom-crush winery, Hunnicutt doesn't break out every small charge but collects flat fees (with some operations TECHNICAL REVIEW like berry sorting costing extra.) "We don't charge small-lot fees—that's what we do—and we don't nickel and dime customers," he claims, acknowledging that the facility's prices reflect the service and facilities it offers. The winemakers choose coopers and barrels, and between Hunnicutt and D.R. Stephens alone, 11 coopers are involved. The winemakers ferment some red wines in barrels experimentally, removing and reinstalling the heads themselves. Hunnicutt now has about 600 bar- rels in use, but it has the capacity to house 1,465 comfortably, according to Stephens. The barrels are stored no more than three high using Western Square racks. Family money wasn't used for the bulk of the project. Stephens borrowed from Mechanics Bank to buy the prop- erty and build his cave. Stephens says digging and finishing the cave was half the cost of a conventional building—not even considering the savings in energy for cooling or heating. Most of all, he emphasizes that this is a business, not a hobby. "If it doesn't work out, someone else's name will be on the property in a few years," he says. 32 Wines & Vines DeCeMBeR 201 1