How Tradition and Technology Blend to Fill Winery Needs for Pumps
By: Cheryl Gray
Pumps are as essential as grapes when it comes to a functioning winery. Their overall purpose is, of course, to protect the quality of wine, whether it is managing must, treating wastewater or guarding against oxidation. Both traditional pumps and advanced alternatives are on the market, giving wineries a choice when it comes to selecting that all-important piece of equipment for a specific task. In all cases, experts with decades of industry experience help wineries make pump selections designed to improve their operations.
When Vijay and Meera Singh started their New Jersey winery in 2013, it prompted them to come up with ways, they say, to work smarter. Meera Singh is a winemaker, WSET level 3 and a sommelier. Dr. Vijay Singh has more than 40 years in the biotechnology industry, with some 20 patents to his credit in multiple fields, such as biotechnology, gun sights, hydroponics, mixing and, of course, winemaking.
Together, the couple founded GOfermentor, the namesake of one of their signature products, the GOfermentor®, an eco-friendly, automated wine fermentor. What followed was SmartBarrel®, offering advanced wine storage options. Then came GOblend, an electronic wine blender. All three products are marketed worldwide.
The company’s latest market entry is GOpump. Dr. Singh explains how the product was created.
“Several years ago, I had made a flow-controlled pump to handle operations in our own winery. A GOfermentor customer asked me in 2022 if I could make something for him. The result of this prototype work is now the commercially available GOpump – the first wine pump with precision flowmeter based batch capability.”
Transferring wine is routine in winery operations, whether done in racking, blending or filling. And while there are pumps on the market that facilitate these tasks, Dr. Singh says something is missing.
“What is lacking in the industry are pumps with accurate flow metering and the ability to automatically dispense user-preset amounts of wine. I wanted the ability to set a wine volume, say 110 gallons, start the pump and walk away to do other things. The pump would transfer the 110 gallons and stop. This saves time and allows me to perform other tasks.”
Market response to GOpump, Singh says, has been good. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive. The typical comment is that it is a marvel of human-machine engineering with all of the functions logically and ergonomically laid out. Users are enthused by the time they can save by not having to monitor the pumping process.
The portable, lightweight, splash-proof design is well-liked. The fact that it can be operated remotely using a smartphone app is appreciated, as the pump can be switched on or off from high up on the barrel rack if needed.
Even flow rate and batch volume can be adjusted. User applications are wine racking and blending. The preset batching feature makes these operations efficient and easy.”
GOpump and the other products developed by Singh are backed by his in-depth knowledge of the device and pump design.
“I have a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, and have worked with all kinds of pumps and flowmeters for over 40 years with over 20 patents. I have developed hardware and software for controllers used in pharmaceutical and beverage processing. The GOfermentor fermentation controller design and manufacture was done by me in 2016 and has been refined constantly since then. Hundreds of these are in service worldwide. Some of the flowmeter and pumping concepts used in the GOpump originated in the GOblend device I developed in 2020. GOblend is a laboratory machine for quickly generating wine blend samples for evaluation. It pioneered the precision flow totalization techniques used in GOpump.
The GOpump is shipping now at a list price of $2,200, which includes a sight-glass and strainer, along with a choice of inlet/outlet fitting. Users can select 1 ½-inch triclamp, 2-inch triclamp, HFC12 quick-connect or just bare female ½-inch NPT. The Android Bluetooth app is included.”
Industry leader Gorman-Rupp Pumps has been manufacturing pumps since 1933. Based in Ohio, the company enjoys a global presence with 20 locations, 11 subsidiaries and sales in 135 countries. Gorman-Rupp is known for pumps used in waste-handling applications for multiple industries, including wineries. It specializes in self-priming centrifugal pumps, which it says are ideal for pumping stems, skins, seeds and other types of waste that wineries have to manage. Jeff Hannan is the product manager for centrifugal pumps at Gorman-Rupp. He uses his 29 years of experience in the pumping industry to help wineries large and small.
“With pumps ranging in size from 1-inch to 16-inch discharge and flow rates up to 15,000 gallons per minute, Gorman-Rupp can work with almost any size of winery in the market. Our reliability, reputation and service set us apart from the competition. Gorman-Rupp has been manufacturing pumps in the United States since 1933 and has the strongest network of factory trained distributors in the industry. This allows for the local distributor to offer support around the clock right where the pumps are being used.”
Hannan adds that the company’s range of products is designed to optimize production time, manage costs and enhance wines. He gives some examples of Gorman-Rupp pumps that fill that checklist.
“Super T Series® pumps equipped with the Eradicator™ Solids Management System are the best choice for pumping clog-prone waste.
Gorman-Rupp’s Super T Series pumps, equipped with the Eradicator solids management system, are the best pumps for handling waste materials, such as seeds, stems, skins and all other types of stringy solids. With the ability to pass up to 3-inch spherical solids, Super T Series pumps are designed to eliminate clogging and increase uptime. With over 4,000 installations in the toughest applications you can find, these pumps have a proven track record.
The Eradicator’s three-part solids management system. The system consists of a new, lightweight inspection cover, an innovative back plate incorporating an obstruction-free flow path and an aggressive, self-cleaning wear plate with integral, laser-cut notches and grooves in combination with a revolutionary ‘tooth’ designed to clear the eye of the impeller constantly and effectively. Upgrade kits are available for existing Super T or Ultra V pumps in the field. The upgrade kits provide everything you need to put the best self-cleaning pump technology in the industry to work for you.”
When it comes to waste handling pumps, Hannan says the dependability can’t be compromised.
“When selecting a pump for any waste application, consideration must be given to reliability, low total cost of ownership and overall uptime. It is best to select pumps that are easy to maintain and are designed to prevent clogging. Gorman-Rupp Super T and Ultra V Series pumps, equipped with the Eradicator solids management system, are the best choices for self-priming, solids-handling pumps for any maintenance department. Externally adjustable clearances between the impeller and wear plate, in combination with the new lightweight inspection covers, are just a couple of the features that make routine maintenance on these pumps easier than ever.”
Hannan describes a recent addition to the Gorman-Rupp Pumps solid handling pumps product line.
“Eradicator PlusTM, Gorman-Rupp’s most aggressive solids handling pump to date, is specifically designed for installations where nuisance clogging is affecting uptime and costly maintenance. Eradicator Plus’ innovative design is currently available for 3-inch, 4-inch and 6-inch Super T Series® pumps. For those extreme-duty applications where municipal waste, wipes, industrial by-products, agricultural wastes and other organic solids are present, Eradicator Plus cuts and tears the solids, allowing them to pass through the pump.”
In business for nearly 40 years, Milwaukee Instruments provides clients from multiple industries with instruments to use in their analytical requirements. For wineries, the product line includes T.A mini-Titrators, V.A. Mini-Titrators, Dissolved Oxygen meters, Turbidity Meters and pH meters in portable (field) or bench (lab) applications in the wineries and BRIX meters for field analysis.
The global company, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, works with wineries of all sizes. Its president, Carl Silvaggio, talks about what he believes makes the products offered by Milwaukee Instruments stand out from competitors.
“Our Mini-Titrators for T.A. and V.A. are very cost effective, easy-to-use, accurate and repeatable. Our Portable and Bench top meters offer up to five-point pH calibrations with two Custom buffers allowed as well. Our meters have data-logging features up to 1,000 points and are USB downloading, with built-in GLP (Good Lab Practice) features, all at very cost-effective prices. Our technical service and after-market service all have the human element, as we answer phones, emails and chats accurately and quickly. We have no bots.”
Silvaggio adds that new product launches are already underway.
“Our MW106 Portable Waterproof Data Logging MAX pH Meter has up to five points of pH calibration, two custom buffers, 1,000 data logging points, USB download, automatic calibration and temperature compensation.”
Experts agree that post-sale service should accompany any pump purchase or an ancillary piece of equipment. As Hannan explains, this spotlight on customer service understanding is critical.
“If something would ever happen to go wrong, and something invariably does, I would want to know that I can trust the pump supplier to work with me to get the situation resolved.”
