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WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT 68 WINES&VINES February 2016 check each temperature on the tank, Stacey just keeps tabs on the entire winery with his laptop or smartphone. "I can go home at night and watch my fermentations from home like a good little data geek." That means the winery's cus- tom-crush clients can monitor their wines as well. Clients can access VinWizard to control just the tanks holding their wines so they can set their own pumpover schedules, cool or heat tanks as needed and just keep an eye on their wine without getting in touch with someone at Cairdean. "Gone are the days when the winemaker has to drive up to the winery and read the sugar chart hanging on the tank," Stacey said. The winery's total capacity is far larger than Cairdean's current production of between 5,000 to 6,000 cases, but that's to accom- modate custom crush and any future expansion. The Williamses own an 8-acre vineyard in the Coombsville AVA of Napa Valley, a 28-acre vineyard in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County and an acre of vines just outside of the winery. Energy and water savings Stacey said, "A lot of time and en- ergy was spent on water savings" when planning the winery. To re- duce the amount of water used during barrel washing, Stacey modified a Tom Beard Co. barrel washer to save the final rinse water from a washing cycle and use it for the first (and dirtiest) rinse of the next barrel. He also uses two Optima steamers as the final cleaning step, followed by sulfur dioxide gas. Napa, Calif.-based Pacific Coast Plumbing installed a water- heating system powered by a Pen- nant boiler that's on a loop so hot water is constantly being circu- lated through the winery. "What that means is when you turn on a 25-foot hose, you're only 25 feet from hot water (as opposed to all the way back to the boiler)," Sta- cey said. Once filled, barrels are stored in the nearly 18,000-square-foot cave that in- cludes a temperature-controlled room for either warming or chilling barrels. Promote your wines to leading Zinfandel enthusiasts and extend your winery's relationship in the market. Join Us! We are champions of Zinfandel— America's Heritage Wine Become part of our proud legacy zinfandel.org • 530-274-4900 Zinfandel Advocates & Producers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. ZAP is dedicated to advancing public knowledge of and appreciation for American Zinfandel and its unique place in our culture and history. You know how good your Zinfandel is... REGISTER AT WVOAK.COM WINES & VINES OAK CONFERENCE APRIL 27, 2016 CIA-Greystone, St. Helena, Calif. Experience a one-day event focused on oak, and network with other winemakers, coopers and researchers. Sessions and ex- hibits on the latest oak research, barrel market conditions, how to protect your investment, barrel repair and coopering advice. Tasting labs and on-going comparison trials cap the conference.