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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT WINEMAKING October 2017 WINES&VINES 67 of-the-art equipment, but it had never been hooked up together," Araujo said. "Everything just worked beautifully." Araujo worked with consult- ing winemaker Nigel Kinsman, who had previously consulted for Araujo Estate, on the design and equipment of the winery. Sarah Donley, who interned at Araujo and then went on to work at Colgin Cellars for several years, is the on-site winemaker and production manager. Cesar Sandoval, cellarmaster at Araujo for 10 years, is the cellarmaster at Wheeler Farms. "We just have an incredible winemaking team," Araujo says. Premium facility for premium grapes After selling Eisele, the Araujos purchased the Rancho Pequeno vineyard in Oakville for Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for the Accendo brand. Accendo also uses grapes from three other Oakville vineyards and two Oak Knoll vineyards. Araujo said he buys from other growers he respects and who share his vi- sion of producing elegant, classic wines. He also stressed that in making Accendo at Wheeler Farms he does not receive or expect to receive any special consideration, and the company is paying all the same custom-crush fees and is bound by the same tenant param- eters as all the other alternating proprietor wineries. Araujo produces Accendo with winemaker Francoise Peschon, consulting winemaker Michel Rolland, viticulture consultant Steve Matthiasson and Biody- namic consultant Jeff Dawson. Accendo production is cur- rently about 1,350 cases, with a little more than half being Sau- vignon Blanc. Cabernet produc- tion will increase only as the Araujos gain access to vineyards they'd like to source from, as the goal is to make wines that show "elegance, balance, freshness and finesse," and which are blended from multiple vine- yards. Nearly all production is sold direct to consumer with some limited placements in Napa Valley, other California markets, New York and Texas. Wheeler Farms is owned by the Araujos and a few other partners, and the business entails custom crush, the hospitality center and the Wheeler Farms brand. Donley oversees winemaking of the Wheeler Farms brand. All the other companies mak- ing wine at Wheeler Farms are using grapes from Napa Valley, where the average price for Cab- ernet Sauvignon is about $7,000 Contact us today! 575 ird St. Bldg. A Napa CA 94559 707-255-6372 | napafermentation@aol.com www.napafermentation.com LOTUS: Breakthrough Pump Over Technology Lotus gently and uniformly distributes juice over the cap in tanks of any size without excessive bruising or misting. Lotus is compact, continuously adjustable, has few moving parts and is easy to install and clean. Three sizes available. Prices start at $650 The next generation of pump over technology is here. The crush pad offers room for forklifts to unload bins from both sides of trucks. ONLINEMARKETINGSYSTEM Wines Vines Analytics Visit winesandvines.com/OMS or call 866.453.9701 to set-up your free demo. Reach Thousands of Winery Decision Makers The Wines & Vines Online Marketing System is designed to help your business: • Increase sales • Generate winery leads • Manage clients and sales territories • Improve marketing effectiveness