TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT WINEMAKING
February 2016 WINES&VINES 71
Custom made - Handcrafted Barrels
Celebrating Over 35 Years of Serving the Wine Industry
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Four stainless-steel tanks near
the main entrance of the cave are
used mainly for racking and
blending, but they are connected
to the VinWizard system in case
they're needed for fermentation.
A small chamber connecting
the main tunnel to a side tunnel
also contains another cluster of
portable tanks. Stacey said the
small tanks are invaluable for a
boutique winery with a number of
custom crush clients. "The more
little tanks you have, the better off
you are," he said. "They can get
turned six times during harvest
(while) some of the 13-ton tanks,
I may never even use them."
Designed by Juancarlos Fer-
nandez of Signum Architecture,
the winery is similar to some of
the firm's other work, such as
Odette Estate Winery on the other
side of the valley in the Stags Leap
District, in that it blends in with
the oak trees and redwoods that
cover the nearby hillside.
While the winery may appear
simple from the exterior, at its
center is a sophisticated system
designed for precise winemaking.
"There's a lot of information gath-
ering systems in this winery," Sta-
cey says. "It's certainly on par for
one of the most state-of-the-art
facilities in the valley."
The crush pad is situated in the middle of the winery with offices, lab
and tasting area to the left and the production area to the right.
