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WINEMAKING Jacks, stems and raisins are identified by Delta Vistalys optical sorter (left). Clean Cabernet Sauvignon berries pass through and MOG is discarded. we were receiving from the vineyards, especially while processing Chardonnay at the same time," Sowalsky said. "Sorting 30 tons by hand alone could take three full days. With the destemmer and optical scanner we sorted 30 tons in a single day." With half as many crew members as he would have needed to sort the grapes by hand, Sowalsky assigned the other half of the sorting team the night shift to rack Chardonnay. The optical sorter accelerated the pace of work in the field and at the winery, al- lowing a team half the size of the regu- lar crew to destem and sort the harvest efficiently. Fewer workers at the sorting table meant more team members to tackle work inside the winery during the busiest time of year. C Raising the bar Thirty-five miles south in Sonoma, Anne Dempsey, lead associate winemaker at Gundlach Bundschu, unloaded an empty receiving bin near a Delta Vistalys opti- cal sorter. Like Richard Sowalsky from Clos Pegase, Dempsey faced a challeng- ing vintage equipped with one of the first optical grape sorters in the county. And like the Pellenc optical sorter, the Delta Vistalys determined every grape that Dempsey pressed into estate Caber- net to ensure that she selected unblem- ished grapes instead of debris that can affect the taste, body, color and aroma of the wine. "We can make top-notch Cabernet sorting 40 tons of grapes a day and still raise quality," Dempsey said. For her, the optical sorter is a tool to make the win- ery's high-end wines even better. "Leaves are the biggest concern with hand sorting," she added, "but I can be as selective as I want with an optical sorter." First she must adjust the machine. Manufactured by Bucher Vaslin, the Delta Vistalys optical sorter selects M J CM MJ CJ CMJ N Our purpose is to be attentive to the market and advise accordingly to help customers create their own value. We deliver the widest range of capsules in the industry : Tin, Aluminium (Class Alu), Screwcaps, Polylaminate and PVC. www.rivercap.com www.sparflexcal.com SPARFLEX-RIVERCAP USA : (+1) 707-747-3637 Cork Supply USA toll free number : (+1) 800-961-2000 Ukiah Manufacturing Center : (+1) 707 462 2963 425-A Kunzler Ranch Road - Ukiah, California 95482 QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #1154 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2011 35 Distributed by