Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/754815
TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT WINEMAKING December 2016 WINES&VINES 65 Flexibility key to efficiency With a second harvest at the property now under his belt, Etzel is "very, very pleased" with how the facility is working. Built for a capacity of 6,000 cases, it currently produces 4,000 cases in a production area of just 9,400 square feet. "The basis of the building was really to pro- vide ultimate flexibility," Etzel says. "It's going back to the basics of having a very open, flexible space, so that you're not having to move things as much. Everything's very condensed. While the space and the square footage is a minimum, you're maximizing your capabilities." Similarly, a gravity-fed winery was ruled out because of the larger footprint required to accommodate multiple levels and associ- ated infrastructure. "There's inefficiency in having to drive a forklift around to get to the different levels," he said. "For me, having one big, flexible open space was my target." Waterleaf employed several elements to create an open design and flexible produc- tion area. Post-tension concrete slabs, typically used in high-rise construction, have cables embed- ded within them that allow for a 17.7-foot ceiling and broad spans between columns. These allow for a 92-foot-wide production floor with just four columns interposing. A 20-foot- wide roll-up door opens onto a central bay that is 30 feet wide and 48 feet deep. A sorting line or Signature Mobile's bottling truck can back in with plenty of room either side for forklifts and other equipment to maneuver. The orientation of the winery's slot drain facilitates the depth of the production area. It runs latitudinally, dividing the winery into two key planes: the production area adjacent to the crush pad, and an interior area carved out of the hillside housing the barrel room and much of the fixed equipment. "This (front) end is the most flexible, if you will, because it's the closest to the crush pad," architect Stephen Lapp explains. "We wanted to have the fixed things farthest into the building." The open space not only allows equipment to be rolled around the concrete floor as needed, it also lets workers see what's going KEY POINTS A compact footprint for Domaine Roy & Fils' production space maximizes the vine- yard area. A flexible production area means the inte- rior is streamlined at less than 15,000 square feet. While the hospitality area currently accepts walk-ins, the goal is to offer by-appoint- ment tastings of single-vineyard Pinot Noir. The winery replaced an Oregon hazelnut farm.