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W ine MAK in G Reliable temperature monitoring and control, the heart of automated systems, are essential to good winemaking. Mike Januik likes being able to set his red fermentation temperatures to 88ºF and know that if the tank somehow gets out of range, he'll get a cell phone call, wherever he is. Besides on- the-spot monitoring, the automated systems store temperature data and other variables in a permanent database, so that winemak- ers can consult past vintages in considerable detail when tackling the next one. Temperature control can yield consider- CHOOSE ALL AMERICAN We carry a complete line of wine bottles, corks and capsules in a wide selection of colors, shapes, styles and sizes – and our bi-coastal warehouses service the entire United States. All American has it all. For more information, contact: Stephanie Ramczyk (707) 544-3496 sramczyk@aacpacificcoast.com Marty Sychowski (707) 328-5316 martys@aacpacificcoast.com West Coast Wine Warehouse in Santa Rosa, CA East Coast Wine Warehouse in Belle Vernon, PA Additional Sales Offices & Warehouses in Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Puerto Rico, NJ and CA www.aacwine.com Lissa McLaughlin (727) 321-8879 lmclaughlin@allamericancontainers.com Roberta Parmelee (315) 585-6045 rparmelee@allamericancontainers.com able energy savings. Spending energy on heating or cooling can be limited to the times it's really needed; a timely infusion of night air is far cheaper than electrical re- frigeration; wineries in some states can use automation to take advantage of off-peak rate differentials offered by power utili- ties. Refrigeration is a huge part of winery energy costs and managing it efficiently pays real dividends. Bob Richards, manag- ing director of Wine Technology America (the company that makes VinWizard), es- timates it accounts for half of the energy bills in Australian wineries Automation can eliminate a lot of wasted time, too. "When we bottle," Januik says, "we need to raise the temperature of the water to sterilize the bottling line. Rather than coming in two hours early and stand- ing around, we can program the system to heat up in the morning." And automation can certainly help eliminate mistakes— pump overs someone never got around to, temperature spikes that go unnoticed for a day or two, pumps left running or never turned on, blending the Chardonnay lot into the Merlot tank. Mike Januik gives his system credit for eliminating mold. "Being able to ventilate barrel rooms on schedule is very important. In our barrel room, there is absolutely no mold because of ventilation control." Besides savings in energy and labor costs, the biggest payoffs are in peace of mind and wine quality. By eliminating mistakes, oversights and accidents (and lessening the logistical bottlenecks at crush time), "wine quality goes through the roof," Kaplan says. Sources of skepticism So why isn't everybody plugging into the control module? "The wine industry," Milz says, "is one of the most underdeveloped drinkable liq- uids in terms of automation and electronic devices." Part of the reason is the structure of the industry: "It's hard to say this is fact- based," says Bret Larreau of Key Technology, 68 Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 201 1