Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/684435
8 WINES&VINES June 2016 A member of Wine Communications Group Inc. President & Publisher Chet Klingensmith Chairman Hugh Tietjen Publishing Consultant Ken Koppel Associate Publisher Tina Vierra Publishing Assistant Tiffany Maxwell EDITORIAL Editor Jim Gordon Managing Editor Kate Lavin Senior Editor Andrew Adams Senior Correspondent Paul Franson Contributing Editor Jane Firstenfeld Northwest Correspondent Peter Mitham Columnists Grapegrowing: Cliff Ohmart and Glenn T. McGourty Contributing Writers Laurie Daniel, Richard Smart, Richard Carey, Chris Stamp, Andrew Reynolds, Craig Root, Ray Pompilio, Andy Starr, Fritz Westover Practical Winery & Vineyard (PWV) Editor Don Neel Wine East Editor Linda Jones McKee DESIGN & PRODUCTION Graphic Designer Rebecca Arnn Design & Production Bridget Williams DATABASE DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Vice President—Data Management Lynne Skinner Project Manager Liesl Stevenson Database & Web Development James Rust, Peter Scarborough EDITOR'S LETTER IT IS ONLY JUNE, but don't fool yourself. You can wait no longer if you are not already "Well Equipped for Crush," as the main cover headline says. Three articles in this issue are specifically intended to help you get the winery ready in time for the 2016 harvest. The first is a column beginning on page 32 by Andy Starr, who trained and worked as a winemaker in California for several years before moving on to other executive positions in the wine industry, including a closures company and a yeast company. Starr has become a regular columnist, writing five pieces in the past year. As a writer, he is fond of injecting a little humor into his work. Now running a business consultancy called Starr- Green, he is equally fond of injecting a lot of planning into the businesses he helps. He knows the aversion to planning that affects a large minority of winemakers (and editors). They can be so confident in their winemaking skills and on-the-spot engineering know-how that they feel it's a bit like cheating to plan ahead. Starr's purpose in this month's column is to reassure them that yes, it's OK (and even good!) to plan ahead for crush. For this month's column Starr relied primarily on recom- mendations from three well-organized winemakers (two in Napa Valley and one in Ventura, Calif.), about how they get ready for crush. Even if you're a veteran winemaker, it can't hurt to pick up a good idea or two from these guys. Next up is the meaty cover story (beginning on page 36) full of suggestions regarding equip- ment that could make the harvest and fermentation season more efficient for you and your cellar team. Wines & Vines senior editor Andrew Adams compiled this one based on dozens of winery Technical Spotlight articles he has researched in the past several years. Those articles appear in virtually every issue of the magazine and pay special attention to how a winery is built and equipped to process grapes at harvest time and move the wine through to eventual bottling. Adams grew up in Sonoma, Calif. He trained as a journalist at the University of Oregon and gained news-writing experience at a paper in Oregon before moving to Lodi, Calif., to be a re- porter and later the city editor of that wine region's daily newspaper, the Lodi News-Sentinel, for three years. Then he worked four crushes as a cellar and lab technician at Napa Valley wineries before joining Wines & Vines. Adams has looked closely at more new and recently renovated wineries than most of us, so his summary of the must-have equipment for crush pads and fermentation cellars is a very well-informed one. The third piece is also by Adams. He focused tightly on one of the most important tools on the crush pad— the mechanical sorter tables—for the monthly Product Focus starting on page 40. Don't miss his descriptions of five machines from leading suppliers that could make your wine better and harvest crew happier. For those of you who don't happen to be in charge of a winery crush pad, the issue additionally covers a wide swath of wine industry news, metrics and grape- growing research. Whatever your job is in the wine industry, we hope you have an enjoyable summer and find yourself well rested, well equipped and well planned for the harvest of 2016. —Jim Gordon The cover story is full of suggestions regarding equipment that could make the harvest and fermentation season more efficient for you and your cellar team. CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: subs@winesandvines.com Online: winesandvines.com/subscribe Phone: (866) 453-9701 EDITORIAL Email: edit@winesandvines.com MAIL 65 Mitchell Blvd., Suite A San Rafael, CA 94903 CONNECT WITH US facebook.com/WinesandVines twitter.com/WinesandVines youtube.com/WinesandVines1919 Tips to Help You Prepare for Crush 2016