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WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT 48 WINES&VINES September 2016 serve wines age in in about 85% to 90% new French oak. Cruzan said the No. 1 barrel he buys is made of Hungarian oak from Trust International Corp., because it's a consistent, high-end barrel that performs as well as any French barrel and costs about 200 euros less. Other cooperages used at the winery include Tonnellerie Re- mond, Nadalie USA and American oak from Canton Cooperage and AP John Coopers. Once the wine is ready for bottling, it's bottled onsite by Ryan Mobile Bottling. Cruzan said the berm offers another advantage in that Titus Vineyards is one of the few small wineries he knows with a loading dock that makes the mobile bottling process quicker and easier. And there's one hell of a hose rack that runs alongside a railing on the edge of the crush pad near the loading dock. "I'm very proud of the hose rack," said Phil Titus, with just a bit of exaggerated pride. "We had so little space, and we got down to the end and it was the last available, uncommitted piece of property, and we're like, 'That's it, that's our hose rack.' I think we have the best hose rack in Napa Valley." While MH Architects provided the overall design, the brothers worked with a winery consultant to maximize the use of every square foot of their self-financed winery. "We actually picked up 100 barrels of space by reconfiguring the tank room," Phil Titus said. It's the winery the family business needed to adopt to a changed industry. A small, ef- ficient winery provides sufficient winemaking space, while a well-designed hospitality area offers an invaluable experience for potential direct-to-consumer customers. "You can't count on the wholesale markets to hit your profitability goals," Eric Titus said, adding that he's planning a big jump in DtC business to reach about 20% by sales volume this year. "That was a big part of our final decision to do the winery." It's not the simple, rustic cellar and vine- yard their father may have envisioned, but it's the type of winery required in what Napa Valley has become. From harvest to packaging, taking you from where you are to where you want to be! 975 Corporate Center Parkway, Suite 130 Santa Rosa, CA 95407 Phone: (707) 544-5300 Email: dtgroup@dellatoffola.us Website: www.dellatoffola.us Crushing, Pressing, Floatation, Filtration, Bottling, & Packaging One of the railings on the crush pad also serves as the winery hose rack.