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MANA GEMENT tie-in to wine, the cork floor is soft under- foot, which is particularly important for the tasting room employees, who are on their feet all day. "And it absorbs an amazing amount of sound," Haas says. Further sound reduction is accomplished with Insul-Shield semi-rigid thermal acoustic fiberglass panels from Johns Manville that are hidden in the ceiling. The tasting bars are made of bamboo with stained, sealed concrete counters. The merchandise display area, which includes items such as books, ceramics, logo clothing and high-end handbags The old overflow tasting area (above) has been replaced by a 2,400-square-foot space (below), with a cork floor that absorbs sound. Ad 380-8 Half Pg Island BW 2_Layout 1 4/24/12 2:22 PM Page 1 made from cork, is made from the same bamboo. John Egbert of Egbert Design and Fabrication in nearby Santa Marga- rita, Calif., did much of the woodwork. For wines that need refrigeration, the tasting room has two large Transtherm wine refrigerators behind the main bar. There are also five small Marvel wine refrigerators at the individual tasting bars. "We pull wines from there to pour as need- ed so we don't have to leave customers and go into the back storeroom," Haas says. Tastings are poured into 15.5-ounce Vin- tage Premier glasses from Glass Tech that Fine Wine Begins With Mueller ® Established in 1940, Mueller® designs and manufactures stainless steel processing systems and equipment reflecting the superb craftsmanship and strict attention to detail that make our products the most desired among today's prominent winemakers. The addition added about 70% (or 8,000 square feet) to the original building, at a cost of $2.5 million. But in addition to adding more space, the design was intended to "bring the experience of the cellar to people who are coming to taste," Haas says. "We wanted to emphasize that this is a working winery." Hospitality space is centerpiece The centerpiece of the new addition is the hospitality space designed by Marilyn Farmer of Habitat Design in San Luis Obispo. Although the tasting room is spa- cious at 2,400 square feet, it's divided in a way to provide a more intimate experi- ence with multiple tasting areas. There are also two smaller rooms off the main tast- ing room that can be used on a busy day or closed off for private tastings. A staff of about a dozen works Saturdays in the tasting room. There's also a large patio off the tasting room that is landscaped with rocks from the calcareous soils of the Tablas Creek property. The floor of the tasting room is made of three colors of cork. Besides the obvious Paul Mueller Company fabricates and field installs equipment for all phases of wine- making, including: fermentation, storage, champagne, de-juicing, and pomace removal tanks; Porta-Tanks® steel wine barrels; Accu-Therm® exchangers; Temp-Plate® heat transfer surface; falling film chillers; process piping; modular systems; and integrated systems. In addition to our standard designs, we will custom design and build the specialized equipment your operation requires. Ask about our field fabrication capabilities. When your project is too big to ship in one piece or is located in tight quarters, Mueller Field Operations, Inc. is ready to go to work for you. Call us today at 1-800-MUELLER or visit www.paulmueller.com for all your winemaking needs! ® ©2012 Paul Mueller Company 380-8 Wines & Vines JUne 2012 33 ; all-stainless- plate heat