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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT WINEMAKING March 2017 WINES&VINES 51 jacent barrel room is small, with room for little more than 75 barrels (and one foudre). "Our barrel component is relatively modest because sparkling and white wines and most of the white aromatics don't get much," Fitz- patrick explains. Similar to the crush pad, the space will double as a hospitality space, offer- ing component tastings to visitors and other educational events. A corridor that runs the length of the winery moves from the barrels through a gated pas- sageway where some of the winery's sparkling wines (up to 118,000 bottles worth) will rest. That number accounts for about three vintages, Fitzpatrick says, based on an annual produc- tion of 3,000 to 3,500 cases. The cellar tem- perature is set at 15° C (59° F). The sparkling line sits beneath the executive offices. A monitor will demonstrate disgorging and dosage to visitors, activities that can't be demonstrated on demand. An alcove opposite hosts a gyropallete for riddling, while disgorg- ing, dosage, corking and bottle-washing takes place in a separate room. The equipment is all from Nuance Winery Supplies in St. Catha- rines, Ontario. Cleanliness again comes to the fore as Fitz- patrick notes that he turned to Hy-Line Sales Ltd. in Langley, B.C., for slot drains with remov- able baskets. Manufactured by DELC Systems, the drains promise to eliminate the clogs and breaks he had experienced with other drainage systems, and facilitate the wash process. "When I saw these slot drains I said, 'Perfect. That's bullet proof.' I like the notion of the baskets," he says. With so much water and potential for slippage as well as microbial accumulation, Fitzpatrick opted for a polyurethane floor coating installed by Marvellous Ideas Ltd. of Kelowna. A similar heavy-duty covering is specified for the crush deck, ensuring that cleanliness will not only be above godliness, but also acts of God. Integrated approach The cellar opens directly onto the vineyard at several points, ensuring that vineyard and cel- lar are in regular contact. The integration is fundamental to the building's design, which places offices in the structure's core. Just as the executive offices occupy the nexus between the winery's wine shop and hospitality area, the winemaker's office is tucked within the cellar area, below an atrium supplying natural lighting to the interior and stairs that lead up to the crush deck. The office arrangement pleases Fitzpatrick. "What I really like about this is that I'm right amongst it all," he says. "Everything is very connected, because that's going to be impor- tant to the experience here." The integration of management with op- erations—and operations with the winery's hospitality function—promises to make good on the vision of showing people how sparkling wine is made. The hospitality program, in turn, is fundamental to a strategy that envi- sions selling 65% of production directly to consumers. Sales to restaurants and a small circle of existing contacts and accounts will take care of the rest. With growing wine tourism and emphasis on direct-to-consumer sales, however, hos- pitality is clearly top of mind for Fitzpatrick. With plenty of small wineries and few venues able to support full-on guest services, Fitz- patrick Family Vineyards hopes to be an oasis in the shadow of Mount Eneas for guests travelling between wineries in the Kelowna area to those further south in Naramata, Oliver and Osoyoos. "You've been in the tasting rooms and you're heading south, and you just want to sit, relax and enjoy a flute of sparkling or a glass of Ehrenfelser on a beautiful sunny day," Fitzpat- rick says. "You can just relax and not have to belly up to the tasting bar but simply enjoy the setting…surrounded by vineyard, lake and mountain."