Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/816747
May 2017 WINES&VINES 37 WINEMAKING fill 8,000 cases (24 packs of 187 ml bottles) per day. "The client winery ships wine and materials to G3 in Modesto, Calif., and we provide labor and bottle as a ser- vice provider," Varner said. G3, an integrated packaging and logistics supplier, can also source wine and materials to provide a turn-key finished prod- uct solution. Varner notes that single-serve packages present critical chal- lenges to minimize total package oxygen (TPO) at bottling, accom- plished by "generating crucial-to- quality process-setting information using sophisticated process-mod- eling techniques including design- of-experiment (DOE), partition modeling and neural network ana- lytics. Focus is put on the filler and closure application processes for TPO control." One-way kegs Wine on tap has grown enor- mously in the past several years as an efficient, green alternative to opening dozens of glass bot- tles over the course of an eve- ning. A growing alternative to returnable stainless steel kegs is the recyclable petainerKeg hold- ing 20 or 30 liters. The keg is compatible with dispensing sys- tems and avoids the cost of manufacturing, returning and cleaning a stainless keg. In 2015, G3 Enterprises added a turn-key mobile kegging line to meet the growing popularity of wine on tap in the United States. Their new mobile keg-filling line goes directly to the customer's lo- cation, where the wine is filled onsite. Daily production capacity is 560 20-liter kegs or 300 30-liter petainerKegs per shift. As with single-serve filling, G3 Enterprises performs all quality monitoring and control including inspecting for dissolved oxygen every hour, checking for appropri- ate cap application and fill levels, and monitoring filter pressures. With these new packaging ser- vice providers, you gain flexibility to bottle small lots or test new packaging formats buying a filling line and learning how to operate it. The wine consumer is continu- ously evolving. It's up to you to decide how you want to adapt. Andy Starr, founder of StarrGreen (starr green.com), is an entrepreneur, market i n g m a n a g e r a n d w i n e m a k e r w h o provides strategy, management and business development consulting ser vices. A resident of Napa Valley, Calif., he holds a bachelor's degree in fermenta tion science from the University of Cali fornia, Davis, and an MBA from UCLA. Singleserve Zipz containers are filled with wine at G3 in Modesto, Calif.