Maintenance is an important and often overlooked part of having a website. Which is odd because you spend a great amount of effort on maintaining other aspects of your life and business. You go to the gym and the doctor to maintain your health; you repair and clean your house, your car, and your yard; at work, your tasting room, Wine Club, and your wine education or tasting senses are all given careful attention to make sure they are kept in shape. Why, then, do we expect to set up our website and then let it sit? Websites need to be maintained, too.
Your website is your front door to the entire world. Will customers or the trade find broken links, missing images, or an insecure page––or will they not even arrive at your website due to poorly tagged pages, making it impossible to find it on a search engine?
The bad news? The internet, software, hardware, and browsers are constantly changing. But the good news is there are lots of plugins and systems out there to keep your website up to date and healthy. Here are 5 areas you should focus on when maintaining your website.
Security
This may seem like it goes without saying, but if your website doesn’t use the proper, up-to-date security measures, your website will suffer. First, search engines will likely put you near the bottom of a list of search results or not even display your site. Second, a scary warning can appear where your website should be strutting its stuff.
Security is especially important if you have a WordPress site. WordPress powers over a third of the internet today. Because of sheer volume and the number of WordPress websites online, it’s the most hacked content management system on the web.
You should set up a routine schedule for removing malware, scanning for viruses or hacks, removing spam blog or product comments as well as spam signups to your mailing list. And don’t forget to monitor your SSL certificate to let purchasers know that you are safe to enter credit cards. Nothing says “don’t buy wine here” like a big security warning.
Data Preservation
You may not realize this, but on many mainstream platforms, including WordPress, there isn’t an automatic backup feature that you can just revert to if your website gets hacked, corrupted, or damaged.
This happens more likely than you think. Sometimes plugin updates can cause irreparable damage to the design. Other times, there’s human error when that new marketing intern deletes all your trade assets by accident.
It is up to you to back up your files. Luckily, there are many tools on the market that can do this automatically.
Broken Links
Whether your website is five pages or 30 pages, it can be easy to miss a broken link buried on your website. If the broken link is to your ecommerce store, it’s like having a malfunctioning door to your tasting room. Even if nothing is broken, if you don’t have a proper “continue shopping” link in your cart or checkout, you could lose the customer with their frustration. Maybe the link is minor and doesn’t lead to the store, but a broken link says you’re not paying attention, so why should your customers?
Again, routine maintenance should look for achieved products, employee bios, vineyards, vintages, distributors, events, or anything on your site that may be out of date and driving to a dead link.
SEO
Google is the most widely used search engine and now processes over 70,000 search queries every second, on average; which translates to well over 5 billion searches per day and closer to 2 trillion searches per year, worldwide. By 9:30 am on any given day there have been 2.5 billion searches on Google, globally. Your winery is in there, somewhere, you just have to help people find it.
Search Engine Optimization doesn’t have to be overly complex. It’s primarily made up of tagging pages and images with keywords so Google can read them, and submitting the site and the sitemap to Google to index. The maintenance of these items requires checking that new pages and images are described and indexed. There are a number of tools on the market that will help identify and flag if a new page is missing tags, or if something is out of date.
ADA Compliance
There has been a lot in the news lately about ADA compliance, mostly coming from several lawsuits being brought against some wineries on the East Coast. The goal of this exercise is to make sure that everyone has equal access to the content on your site, including those with visual or mobility impairments.
Being compliant for something like ADA can be tricky and until the law has even more clear guidelines, it may be hard to be 100% compliant. But there are a number of ways to be accommodating for web visitors with disabilities. Think of it as very rigorous SEO: The requirements for being ADA Compliant cover tagging a large portion of your content, images, and overall accessibility. I would not recommend you try and tackle this on your own. There are scans and specific tasks required, like scripting to close modal windows, and tested functionality with the site text increased up to 200%. It is something your designer should look into. But once done, it needs to be maintained with each new image or block of text. The good news is, not only does it benefit your customers with disabilities, but it benefits your website functionality overall.
Ongoing maintenance doesn’t have to be a brain-teaser. If you consider the investment you put into your website and the sales you get out of it, then finding an agency with a maintenance package or setting up a series of plugins to manage these areas seems like a no-brainer.
Susan DeMatei is the President of WineGlass Marketing, a full-service direct marketing firm working within the wine industry in Napa, California. www.wineglassmarketing.com
Change may tend to move slowly in the wine world, but new research published this year on Canadian wine trends reveal some important shifts in consumer tastes and spending habits.
According to the London, UK-based Wine Intelligence 2019 Canada Landscapes report, Cana-dians are drinking less but spending more and branching out to explore new tastes and varie-ties from a wider range of wine growing regions.
There’s also increasing crossover between the wine and beer worlds. A growing number of wine drinkers now also report that they choose beer at least occasionally. Craft beer culture, specifically the sense of strongly identifying with locally produced brands, also seems to be influencing consumer attitudes towards wine, with more Canadians now seeking out high-quality domestic wine.
According to COO Richard Halstead, also Wine Intelligencer’s Canadian market expert, Ontar-io’s Niagara region remains the dominant source for Canadian wine. However, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia is now becoming highly regarded for the quality of its wine and the strength of its vineyard tourism offerings, while Quebec is an emerging presence in the wine world as well.
Of the over 700 wineries listed in the Canadian Wine Directory, almost 300 were in B.C., 200 in Ontario, over 150 in Quebec, with a handful in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island as well.
A 2017 economic impact study commissioned by the Canadian Vintners Association, the Win-ery & Grower Alliance of Ontario, the British Columbia Wine Institute and the Winery Associa-tion of Nova Scotia, the Ontario wine and grape industry generates about $4.4 billion in eco-nomic impact, while in British Columbia it was estimated at $2.8 billion, $1.1 billion in Quebec and $218 million in Nova Scotia. For every $1 spent on Canadian wine sold in Canada, the study estimates $3.42 in GDP is generated across the country.
Halstead said industry analysts are starting to speculate that the same zeitgeist propelling con-sumers to support local farmers’ markets and neighborhood microbreweries may be influenc-ing Canadians’ attitudes on domestic wine.
“We’re a wine research company, so we don’t really look at craft beer except to look at how it’s affecting our world,” Halstead said. “But there are parallels with the connection craft beer has made with local ingredients and making a local product for local people, and that’s seeped into the wine category and made buying local cool again.”
The divide between wine drinkers and beer-drinkers appears to be narrowing in Canada. The proportion of regular wine drinkers who also choose beer, both mass-market and craft, is growing. In 2014, 67% of wine drinkers said they also drank beer, with 29% drinking craft beer, but by 2018, 74% were also quaffing beer, and 40% drank craft beer.
Data released in May by Statistics Canada found beer remained the most popular choice for Canadians, with $9.1 billion in sales and representing 41% of total sales of alcoholic beverages in 2016/2017. However, the market share of other alcoholic beverages, notably wine, contin-ued to grow. Canadians spent $7.2 billion on wine during the same period, a year-over-year increase of 3%, or just over one-third of overall alcohol sales.
Beer, particularly craft beer, has been growing steadily in popularity in recent years. According to Wine Intelligence’s report, from 2014 to 2017, the number of breweries in Canada increased by 115%, mostly driven by a proliferation of microbreweries and regionally focused craft brewers.
Another reason locally produced wine is gaining in popularity is because local liquor boards have been doing more to spotlight local wines.
“The wine world doesn’t move very fast normally, because people’s habits are people’s habits, but the pendulum has swung slightly toward the domestic side,” Halstead said.
Almost three-quarters of English Canadians now say they have selected Canadian wine in the past year, compared to one-third of those in French Canada. While English-speaking Canadians are far more likely to drink Canadian wines, and Quebecers to choose European brands, the report found domestic wines are quickly gaining in popularity in la belle province.
Canadians are now reporting drinking less wine, yet are more willing to splurge on a good bot-tle, Halstead said. Spending on higher priced wine has increased, particularly when the higher price point is linked to a good story, as with many local producers.
The average price per bottle of wine for a relaxing drink at home has increased from $12.79 per bottle in 2014 to $13.44 in 2018, while the average price paid for a bottle selected as a gift for someone increased from $17.36 to $18.81.
“One of the differences today in Canada versus 20 years ago is that if Canadians wanted really nice wine then, it would either be France or the top end of California,” Halstead said. “Now they’ve also got Okanagan wine, which is selling at $40-50 CDN for some cabernets and char-donnays. It’s hitting a very similar market spot that California, or at least the Napa/Sonoma re-gion, used to own without much competition.”
The increase in average cost isn’t only due to consumer preferences, however. Increased regu-lation, taxes, and liquor board policies have made it difficult for many producers to charge less than $10 per bottle. Regional, government-run liquor boards have also been promoting higher-end brands to motivate consumers to spend more on better quality products, in the hopes that this will also encourage citizens to drink less alcohol overall.
“The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) and SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec) have been trying to get people to spend more money and buy less because that fits with govern-ment social policy,” Halstead said. “It’s also good for business because you make more money from one higher-priced bottle than you would two lower-priced bottles.”
Four out of five Canadians surveyed drank wine within the past year, compared to seven in 10 who drank white. The most popular reds were merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, shi-raz/syrah and malbec. White wine drinkers were attracted to chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pi-not grigio/pinot gris, riesling and moscato. No matter what wines drinkers chose, they pre-ferred wines from California’s Napa Valley, Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula, the B.C. Okanagan, the Bordeaux area of France and Tuscany in Italy.
Consumption of rosé is going up, particularly among regular wine consumers in Quebec. While rosé used to be a seasonal beverage, rosé fans are now enjoying it throughout the year, not only in summer. The drink is particularly popular with young adults aged 19 to 34, women, and savvier wine drinkers.
Sparkling wine is also gaining, albeit from a small base, led by the popularity of Prosecco. The percentage of wine drinkers who consumed sparkling wine in the past year increased from just 12% in 2014 to 19% in 2018. Consumption of locally produced sparkling wine has decreased however, with most consumers choosing imports from France, Spain, and Italy—specifically Prosecco.
Halstead said many American brands are continuing to do well in the Canadian market, par-ticularly mainstream Californian brands like Barefoot, Gallo, Woodbridge and Apothic.
As you’d expect in a country where provincially run liquor boards maintain tight control over wine sales (with the exception of Alberta), three-quarters of wine consumers bought their wine from government-controlled liquor stores. Other notable sales channels (representing from one-fifth to one-quarter of consumers in each case) included grocery stores, wine stores at-tached to grocery stores, private liquor stores or dépanneurs (convenience stores).
Last year, we published an article about the pros and cons of mobile bottling and who’s been using this service in the wine industry. Now we’re taking that conversation one step further to discuss how to pick the right mobile bottler for your operations, the various options that mobile bottlers have to offer, and what questions to ask when you decide to package your wine this way. Mobile bottling options are helping wineries keep costs down, but costs can also skyrocket with a poor bottling plan in place.
Making the Decision to Go Mobile
Mobile bottling typically involves a specialized vendor coming onsite with a trailer, bottling unit, and hoses to pump wine from a winery’s tanks to the mobile bottler’s filling tanks. Wineries are usually responsible for providing the bottles, closures, and labels, as well as some onsite staff to ensure everything goes smoothly and to assist with the labor.
Wineries often choose mobile bottling to save space, time, and money, or they may go this route to entrust the job to someone with more experience and increase bottling speed. Companies specialize in this process to take the headaches out of onsite bottling, although wineries still need to meet certain requirements to ensure a successful bottling day. Before bottling day, for example, wineries need to complete the filtration process, ensure proper wine temperature, have the necessary equipment and staff available, and have labels that work with the bottler’s machinery.
When it comes to deciding whether or not to choose mobile bottling, key factors to consider are whether it is cost-effective to own your own bottling line and how many bottles and cases you are looking to produce per season.
“As a winery just starting out, it made sense for us to utilize the capital investment that would be required for a dedicated bottling line on other things that elevate wine quality,” said winemaker Ryan Prichard of Three Sticks Wines in Sonoma, California. “We were, and still are, a small winery so putting money towards equipment that we would only use a couple of days a year didn’t make sense when there were high-quality mobile bottling options available.”
Charlie Fauroat, winemaker for Pellegrini Wine Co. in Santa Rosa, California, told The Grapevine Magazine that his winery uses Peregrine Mobile Bottling for their bottling needs.
Pellegrini Wine chose this bottler because of the “excellent dissolved oxygen management, positive pressure filler to help minimize carbon dioxide loss, and a troubleshooting staff who care immensely about customer service and performance within their jobs,” Fauroat said.
Fauroat went on to share that mobile bottling has affected the way his winery operates because it “allows us not to have to truck wine offsite to bottle, further beating up the wine in this already hectic period for the wine.”
Differences Between Mobile Bottlers
While on the surface it may seem that mobile bottlers are all one and the same, there are actually quite a few differences in their capabilities and what they offer.
Bill Kreck, the founder of Mill Creek Vineyards & Winery and Mill Creek Mobile Bottling Services who spent 17 years in this segment of the wine industry, told The Grapevine that mobile bottlers can be classified as petite, small, and “big dogs” with regard to capacity. He said petite bottlers have a capacity that usually tops out at about 75 cases of wine per hour and uses hand-bottling equipment mounted on a small trailer. Small bottlers can produce around 150 to 250 cases per hour with automatic equipment in a large trailer that is equipped with conveyors to allow bottles to move without manual assistance. “Big dogs” can produce up to 100 bottles per minute so that a winery could expect to get up to 3,000 cases in an eight-hour day. These large vendors typically operate in 40- to 50-foot semi-truck trailers and offer advanced services, such as onboard nitrogen generators and bottle coding. While large bottling lines require more personnel to operate, they run very fast so there is a lower per-case labor cost than for smaller lines.
Some mobile bottlers stick to either just caps or just corks for wine closures, while others offer multiple options for wineries to choose from. Mill Creek Mobile Bottling first went into business in 2001, and Kreck said, “At that time, screw cap wines were reserved exclusively for low-end, low quality, mass produced wines and not at all appropriate for quality products from Sonoma County vintners.”
However, attitudes have changed about screw caps, and there are now many more mobile bottlers in the industry competing for winery clients.
“Many wineries have retained cork finish for reds but have converted to screw cap finish for their white wines, so if a bottler cannot do both, the winery is likely to find one that can,” Kreck said. “It would not be wise now to be a mobile bottler unless that dual closure option was available.”
In addition to screw cap or cork options, other custom options provided by mobile bottlers include PVC, polylam, or tin capsules and also bottles in 750ml, 500ml, and 375ml sizes.
Meanwhile, Mary McLaughlin of Ryan Mobile Bottling in Napa, California said that what sets her company apart from its competition is its people. This is another major difference among mobile bottlers.
“We have dedicated, talented staff who stay with us for the long-term, which enables them to be stronger operators who are familiar with our customers and their packages,” she said. “Also, our management team is actively engaged in field operations and are prepping, planning, and bottling on a daily basis.”
McLaughlin also told The Grapevine Magazine that all four, soon to be five, of Ryan Mobile Bottling’s trucks insert corks.
“We have two trucks that can apply screw caps – one of which can also apply LUX closures,” she added.
Mobile Bottling Costs
Costs can vary significantly between mobile bottlers, depending on the services offered and the region of the country. For example, East Coast Mobile Bottling charges a setup fee and minimum service charge of $1,500 and $2.75 per case for sterile filtration, bottle rinse, bottle sparging, filling, closure, capsule, and label. Other fees apply for bottle changes requiring complete reconfiguration of the entire line and when it’s necessary to change the wine or bottle height. Additionally, each change can reduce daily production by about 75 cases.
Old Woolam Custom Bottling estimated that a winery producing 10,000 gallons or 4,100 cases annually would need to commit to a $75,000 total investment and at least a $25,420 total annual cost to own its own bottling line. However, the total annual cost to have a mobile bottler come to this size of a winery would be more like $17,064, with no up-front investment for equipment.
Kreck of Mill Creek told us that there is generally a slight premium per case bottled for using a petite or small mobile bottler over a faster line and that labor is a significant factor in determining cost. However, he said that mobile bottlers usually have a fee structure that includes the following, with the cost of supplies, such as filters, sealing tape, and nitrogen or argon being extra:
In/out and spot the trailer and
hook up utilities……………………………….$300 – $600
Initial package setup for the
first wine of the day…………………………$100 – $200
A fee for package changeovers
(i.e. Bordeaux > Burgundy)………………..$100 – $200
Wine change fee
(after first three wines of the day)……..$100 – $200
Per case bottling and/or
labeling charge………………………………$2.10 – $3.00
Kreck also said that the most significant variable in the mobile bottling cost is speed and that important factors to consider when choosing a bottler are features, name recognition, and service. He estimates that a petite mobile bottling line that can produce up to 100 to 120 cases per hour would cost $100,000 to $175,000, a small line for around 100 to 250 cases per hour at $250,000 to $500,000, and a large line for around 250 to 350 cases per hour at $500,000 to $1.3 million. All of those costs increase if a trailer needs to be custom made, plumbed and wired, and a tow vehicle supplied to move it and support the equipment.
Questions to Ask a Mobile Bottler
Wineries looking to try mobile bottling for the first time can benefit from asking lots of pertinent questions up-front. Cost is always a top concern, so you’ll want to get a breakdown of mobile bottling charges and fees for your winery’s specific situation. You will also want to fully understand the services and equipment that a mobile bottler offers, such as screw-capping, to ensure the vendor meets your winery’s needs.
Bottle-filling speed is very important when you choose a mobile bottler, so ask vendors how many cases they can process in a day. However, you’ll need to know how much you want to bottle beforehand to ensure that the company can meet your case-per-day requirements. Also, ask about the bottle-per-minute speed because this can vary from one company to the next based upon the technology and equipment used.
Ask mobile bottlers about the size of their bottling trailer to make sure it will fit comfortably at your winery’s location. You should also have discussions early-on about a mobile bottler’s ability to work with your current mechanical and electrical capabilities. Other questions to ask include how many staff members should be onsite for bottling day, what preparations need to be done in advance, what the sanitation process entails, and how the bottler checks the line to ensure everything is going according to planned. If possible, try to see the mobile bottler at work to better understand what the process entails from start to finish.
Mobile Bottling Tips and Advice
There are many things that can go wrong in the bottling process if a winery and mobile bottler aren’t on the same page, including lost time, inefficiency, and broken equipment. This is why Kreck of Mill Creek says that communication is so important from the very first conversations about scheduling. A work order should be submitted weeks before bottling day to outline exactly what the winery needs to accomplish and list the number of cases of each wine along with details about the glass, cork or cap, foil, and labels to be used.
“If winemakers detest bottling, they often do not properly pay attention to details and that becomes the responsibility of the mobile bottler,” Kreck said. “An example might be that the winemaker wants the whites to be sterile filtered, then most of the reds to be unfiltered, but the last wine sterile filtered again. The bottler knows that once a sterile filter is removed, the line is no longer considered sterile and just putting a sterile filter back in the filter housings could disastrous. The bottler knows that according to the work order, they will come to the end of the day with a partially filled tank. Does the winemaker want to work overtime to finish the tank, be comfortable with an unfilled tank overnight, or rearrange the bottling sequence to finish tanks by the end of the day? These are just a few of the issues that a mobile bottler would address and communicate options back to the winemaker.”
Meanwhile, David Crawford, vice president of Napa’s Top It Off Bottling emphasizes the need to plan ahead well in advance and start communicating with a mobile bottler over a year before your next anticipated bottling date. Consulting your mobile bottler about packaging decisions is also recommended to reduce hassles and save money.
“I always ask my customers to put me in direct contact with their suppliers so we can talk out what they have going on because I know how to ask the right questions and we deal with these people all the time,” Crawford said. “There is no advantage to hiding the ball on troublesome packaging issues. If you have a cap that doesn’t fit but you want to try it anyway, tell us ahead of time so we can plan for it.”
McLaughlin of Ryan Mobile Bottling agrees that communication is the key to a successful working relationship between a winery and a mobile bottling company.
“Make sure that all work orders are complete and accurate, and notify your bottler when there are changes,” McLaughlin advises. “Also, inventory raw materials to ensure you have received what you expected. Our time may be tightly scheduled and may not allow for us to wait while vendors make corrections.”
ABRAY-DURSO, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER, 15: Production line for the packaging of sparkling wines. Factory wine house “Abrau-Durso” has the latest equipment for production and packaging of sparkling wines on 15 september 2014
You’ve spent a lot of time, effort and money to produce a great tasting, quality wine that you’re proud of and can’t wait to share with consumers. When it’s finally time to package and ship your wine, there are many options on the table. It’s up to you to make the decisions that will move your company in the desired direction.
Functional End Of Line Efficiency For Trending Canned Wines
“If it has a seam or a ridge, we can put a handle on it,” said Mike Seestadt, PakTech’s Territory Sales Manager for North America and Central Canada. “Because of the surge in packaging wine in cans, it is a major focus of our business right now. Canned wine offers a huge opportunity because we can make and put handles on all can formats, from standard to sleek to slim.”
PakTech produces can-handle packaging solutions that are manufactured totally from post-consumer recyclables, namely clear milk jugs. The can-handles not only make it easy to carry packs of canned wine, but they are also built to nest, creating an optimal way to stack and store can packs. Once used, the handles are recyclable again. In fact, PakTech is partnering with its clients in maintaining a closed-loop recycling program that has an ultimate goal of recycling used can-handle into more of the same.
“PakTech also makes and sells the can-handle applicators, making us a one-stop shop,” said Seestadt. “Our available applicators are a standalone system, but they are also conveyorized, allowing them to be inserted directly in-line within a company’s packaging process.”
PakTech sells can-handle application machinery based on the clients packaging needs, starting with the CCA 120/180. This unit applies quad-, six- or eight-pack PakTech can-handles onto filled beverage containers at a rate of thirty cycles, or 180 cans per minute. The CCA 440+ applicator is recommended for larger producers but is also a popular item in co-packing environments. PakTech also manufactures higher speed units customized for the unique needs of their clients, with application speeds of up to and including 1600 cans per minute.
“We’re not just a seller though,” said Seestadt. “We are a partner with our clients rather than a component supplier. We stay with the company throughout the install and provide training on site for the operation, maintenance and cleaning of the applicators. We have service teams that travel the globe providing installs and physical upgrades. Software upgrades are applied remotely.”
Seestadt told The Grapevine Magazine that PakTech’s systems typically are placed last on the packaging line and work well with the systems already installed.
“We work with the currently installed line configurations and filler spaces. Our can handles all nest, providing easy shipping and pallet building without the need for trays for stability. Although our systems are 100% in-line capable, they can be run as a standalone unit if needed.”
Needs and Goals Drive Packaging Automation Choices
Bryan Sinicrope, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for A-B-C Packaging Machine Corporation, is all in when matching end-of-line packaging options with a winery’s business needs and goals.
“Typically, once a winery reaches line speeds of around 120 to 150 bpm, automation in their packaging process can be justified,” said Sinicrope. “Then, they need to look at their goals. Do they need to increase speed, want to reduce labor, need a dedicated line, or want to run multiple sizes and configurations? What are their space limitations? All of these answers will impact the type and amount of machinery needed. For example, to accommodate a large increase in sales, it may be worthwhile to transition, when feasible, from reshipper cases to bulk bottle delivery. Original equipment manufacturers are well equipped to help with machinery decisions once concrete goals are established. Our equipment recommendations lean towards simple, straightforward and uncomplicated machinery that still offers modern, updated sophistication with features and equipment design that give the winery plant personnel the flexibility and control they need.”
Sinicrope told The Grapevine Magazine there isn’t an industry standard for packaging automation, because different options are available depending on the winery’s priorities. Some wineries, for example, may want to automate at lower speeds if it provides other advantages such as improved quality control for their products or to address concerns over potential liability and insurance costs related to hand labor.
“Machinery choices also vary based on how the winery purchases their bottles,” said Sinicrope. “They will either use reshippers, where the bottles are delivered in corrugated cases, or purchase bottles in bulk, getting them on bulk shipping pallets. For reshipper handling, the winery needs an uncaser to remove those bottles from the reshipper case, then a packer to repack the finished bottles after filling, labeling and closure application. They’ll need a top sealer to seal the top case flaps and a palletizer to load the cases onto the shipping pallets. If using bulk glass handling, the winery needs a depalletizer to unload the bottles from the bulk pallets, then a case erector to set up the new cases, a partition inserter if the case will have partitions (dividers to keep the bottles apart), a packer to pack the bottles into the case, a sealer to seal the top case flaps, and finally that palletizer to load the shipping pallets.”
On first glance, all of this may seem like a significant investment, Sinicrope said, but there are different options for each step that offer both cost and space savings. For example, A-B-C Packaging manufactures a bottle unpacker/packer that simultaneously handles both uncasing and packing in one machine, saving floor space while reducing upfront, capital equipment expense. All the equipment can be used with previously installed lines or on a standalone basis. Palletizers typically come preprogrammed with common pallet patterns for easy selection, but if necessary, the palletizers come equipped with an intuitive custom configuration builder on the control panel.
A-B-C Packaging offers training following the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute standardized program. They recommend monthly lubrication and cleaning schedules and offer lubrication systems on some of their machinery, making the task easier. They also supply full service for the life of their equipment, including training, remote diagnostics, in-plant service calls, factory spare and repair parts, machine upgrades and rebuilds. To reduce a winery’s need for service staff, they A-B-C Packaging offer service contracts that provide regular inspection and maintenance.
Adaptable and Flexible Packaging Options Fit Industry Needs
“End-of-line packaging can be a bigger concern for the wine industry simply because of the price point of the product,” said Ryan Broughton, Sales Manager for Delkor Systems.“How the finished product presents itself to the end user is important.”
Delkor Systems offers pick-and-place case packing systems rather than drop pack systems. Pick-and-place case loaders are better at handling fragile components while also addressing potential integrity issues of the filled bottles.
“Bottle integrity, label integrity and closure integrity are all important aspects to consider when packaging, shipping and showcasing the wine for the end user, and we’re always looking at how to better address these issues,” said Broughton. “Bottle integrity is increasingly important with the increased use of thinner and lighter weight glass bottles. Labels are obviously important for branding, consumer recognition and loyalty, and no one wants to see scuffed or scraped labels on their finished product. It presents a diminished perception of the product inside. With more wines being bottled using screw caps, it’s imperative that the skirt directly below the cap enclosure remain intact and undamaged.”
Broughton told The Grapevine Magazine that some packaging automation is generally recommended once a winery approaches an annual production rate of approximately 200,000 cases. “Automation saves money on different levels. Basic machinery includes an automated case packer and palletizer. By having a case packer available to run when needed, a winery can pack and prepare shipments faster and more efficiently. It also eliminates the need to hire temporary workers as some wineries have to do to get the product packed and shipped. The time and money saved can be better used elsewhere, increasing efficiency and uptime in other areas. To avoid the repetitive lifting, twisting and stacking, a palletizer is also recommended to take those filled and sealed cases and ready them for shipment.”
Delkor Systems’ machinery can be used as a standalone machine when needed and can be fed by hand or by conveyor. The machines can be adjusted to different bottle sizes and shapes, cans or any rigid container types. Additionally, the systems readily adapt to new case counts or configurations.
Delkor also manufacturers machines optimized for packing flexible primary products as well, such as bag-in-box or pouches. Delkor’s machines were derived and built based on the needs of the food and beverage industry, and because of that experience, Delkor Systems bring additional functionality and flexibility to wine packaging that previously never existed.
“We’ve perfected our machines through decades of hard work and listening to our customer base,” said Broughton. “For a long time, wineries were a very stable and static industry regarding bottles, generally using only four basic types. Other food and beverage containers, however, were always changing due to the needs and wants of consumers, or because of new products coming to market, so Delkor Systems made it a priority to be flexible and adaptable with its equipment lines. We pride ourselves on the flexibility and adaptability of our equipment lines to help our clients react and adapt to the market as needed, whether it’s a different style or shape of the bottle or can, or the desire to package the finished product differently.”
Delkor Systems provides installation, service and training programs for the end users of their equipment. Their overall goal, however, is to provide their customers with the quality training and knowledge that will allow them to confidently service and maintain the equipment on their own.
“If and when a client needs our help, we’re always here for them with 24-hour live phone support and availability of on-site service and training,” said Broughton.
Trials and fining agents, in the wine business, are often riddled with unfamiliar language and terms. Grams per liter, grams per thousand gallons, pounds per thousand gallons and milligrams per liter roll off most winemaker’s tongues as if the world is in tune. Let’s review how to make this simpler and to understand.
When?
We should perform trials anytime a question is raised on how to improve or change a wine. If a wine has a problem – identify the solution in a laboratory first. Then apply the desired corrective action in the cellar. Always double check you trial and math before performing in the cellar.
Why?
The reason we do trials is to experiment with refinement, improvement and / or correction of a juice or wine. Always work in small quantities with a wine so one does not create a larger problem, in a tank, in need of potential further corrective action. These trials can be tasted and tested to see what the results would, or will have been, if the addition was made to the actual tank or vessel of juice/wine. This eliminates guesswork and unnecessarily “shooting from the hip” in the cellar.
Where?
One should do these trails in the laboratory where control, on a small-scale amount of wine, is essential. The opportunities of what one can discover in the lab are almost endless. I repeat let’s always make our mistakes on a small scale in the laboratory before stepping into the cellar for any actions that may change the flavor, aroma or chemistry of any juice/wine. This lab area should be designed for this feature of experimentation. The metric system will be used. Once this is attempted, one will not step back into some of the complicated aspects or other forms of measurement. These trials can be used for many things including but not limited to: sugar additions, acid additions, fining agents, concentrates, de-acidification’s etc.
Potential Tools Needed
Accurate scales that measure in grams preferably to a tenth of a gram.
2 – 10 milliliter pipettes with graduated markings at each milliliter to the tenth. (Plastic preferred) [ AKA : Serological ™ ].
Small glass beakers 250 milliliters plus or minus
Representative sample(s) of each wine to be sampled.
Clean wineglasses.
Glass watch glasses to cover each glass.
Spit cup.
Other testing equipment to answer questions at hand.
Magnetic Stir plate with stir bars and retriever for the stir bars.
Sharpie™ pen or pencil for marking beakers.
95% ethanol to remove Sharpie™ pen marks off glassware.
How?
Start with something simple where results can be easily determined with the wineglass to give the confidence needed to build upon the procedure. An example of this may be a tartaric addition trial for pH correction and/or palate modification. Let’s go over one example.
Start with an ample quantity of wine to work with in the lab – perhaps an 800-milliliter representative sample from a wine vessel.
Weigh accurately 1.0 gram of tartaric acid and fully dissolve the acid in approximately 85 milliliters of the base wine with which you are working.
Once dissolved, place the full amount into a 100 milliliter graduated cylinder or as one becomes more experienced you may just make the solution in the 100 milliliter graduated cylinder.
Bring the amount up to volume in the 100 milliliter graduated cylinder up to 100 milliliters mark with additional base wine. [One should be clear they have made a solution of 1.0-gram tartaric acid dissolved into 100 milliliters of wine.]
In a clean graduated cylinder, pipette 10 milliliters of the newly prepared acid stock solution into the cylinder. Bring to the complete 100 milliliters volume mark with the base wine. This should represent a 1.0 gram per liter tartaric acid addition.
Pipette twenty milliliters from the stock acid solution made in step four into another graduated cylinder and bring to volume at the 100 milliliter mark to represent the next addition level of 2.0 grams per liter tartaric addition.
Continue to add to the number of samples you care to do the trial on in standard logical increments.
Set Up the Tasting Trial
Pour about 50 milliliters or a quantity one desires to smell and taste, of the base wine, into a control glass and place it in the left hand glass in the tasting area. (One should always taste against a control) Taste Left to right.
Pour the trials to be tasted, made in steps 5,6 and 7 above, in increasing increments in each wineglass progressing from left to right. Mark their contents.
Add to this flight any wines from past vintages you may want to review or any other blind samples from other producers you may care to use as a benchmark. Mark their contents.
Taste and smell each wine several times. Go through the flight and detect what wine may best match or improve the desired style one is trying to achieve.
Select the match and leave the room for 1 to 2 hours.
Return and re-taste to confirm your decision.
Should chemistries play an important role to reviewing certain additions be certain to run a necessary panel of lab test to ascertain the proper numbers are also achieved. One may need to balance taste, flavor and chemistry to make some tough choices. Have all the data necessary and available to make those choices.
Calculation:
Once the fear of the metric system is overcome and confidence is achieved, the calculations become very simplistic. Let’s take the above as the example. If we dissolve 1.0 gram of tartaric acid into 100 milliliters of wine we now have 0.1 gram of tartaric acid in every 10 milliliters of wine. From this base if we blend 10.0 milliliters (one-tenth gram of tartaric) into 100 milliliters of fresh wine – this represents the equivalent of one gram per liter.
If we were to have used twenty milliliters that would represent two grams per liter in the small 100-milliliter lab blend. If we keep track of what we are tasting, or testing, and select the trial we prefer, one can mathematically calculate how much of the given addition is needed in a tank of known quantity of juice or wine. One can also extrapolate this out to larger volumes in the laboratory should that be desired to work beyond a 100-milliliter sample.
Spicing it up!
Once the first set of trials is mastered one may build on to the next step projecting out what one may want to do with the wine. This could eventually, and perhaps should, build out to treating large enough samples that one could cold and protein stabilize the wine in the lab, filter to the projected desired micron size and taste with a panel.
Double Checking the Results
From experience, one can get so creative in a lab it can be difficult to trace exactly how one arrived at a certain desired concoction. Copious notes should be kept and most often one can trace their steps. When in doubt; however, re-perform the steps with each addition to reestablish and confirm the same results. This extra time is well worth doing before stepping into the cellar.
Summary
Given time and experimentation with this system many blending trials with additions will become easy and systematic. Trials will often take less than ten minutes to prepare and one may taste at several points during the day or use extra time to perform lab test to confirm desired objectives.
Other Helpful Tips
Keep in mind not to over scrutinize your accuracy in the laboratory. By this I mean make sure that if we measure something very tightly in the laboratory make sure this action will be able to be duplicated outside the lab. It is not uncommon, early on, for winemakers to get extremely exact in the lab only to step into the cellar with less exact control over what they had just experimented with. Food for thought on the practical side!
One can use other base solutes should that be desired. It does not always have to be wine.
This system can be used for dosage formulation for sparking wines.
If accurate scales may be an issue the winemaker may always start by weighing larger quantities and dissolving into solution then breaking down that solution. Example: If a winemaker wants a 1.0 gram per liter solution and the scales are not accurate enough to weight one gram the winemaker may dissolve 10.0 grams into 100 milliliters and then measure out 10 milliliters of that solution and this should roughly equate to one gram.
Make sure all solids are dissolved and dispersed equally into any solution.
One may also be able to blend two trials in 50% to 50% solutions to get an example of a trial in the middle without having to make one up specifically to match the amount desired.
Always remember your palate may become desensitized while tasting and to step away from tasting for an hour or two and then return to taste a potential preference. You may be shocked you had become used to certain levels because of tasting such extremes. Desensitized in essence.
References:
Verbal discussion with Mr. Jacques Boissenot, Mr. Jacques Recht, Mr. Chris Johnson and Mr. Joachim Hollerith.
Dedicated to Chris Johnson: A long-time colleague and friend who worked with me to develop this system together many years ago. Chris passed away in April of 2009. He was head of all red winemaking at Kendall Jackson and he had his own family winery label called Blair in Northern Napa Valley.
Wildfires have become an increasing problem in recent years, with many occurring in various wine-growing areas throughout the world. Aside from causing loss of life and extensive property damage, the wildfires pose a risk of smoke exposure to grapes in the vineyard, which can lead to off-flavors in the wine. This condition is known as smoke taint.
Smoke taint is created by volatile phenols in smoke that permeate the grape skin and bind with sugar in the grape to form organic compounds called glycosides. This process, known as glycosylation, makes the phenols non-volatile, meaning you cannot smell or taste the smokiness. However, during fermentation, the glycosides break apart and release the now-volatile phenols into the wine, making smoke-tainted flavors perceptible. This process can even happen as you sip: the enzymes in your mouth can break down any glycosides that remain, releasing unpalatable compounds into the wine. The flavors associated with smoke taint have been described as “burnt rubber,” “ashtray,” “campfire,” or “smoked meat.”
While Australia, long plagued by wildfires, has been researching smoke taint for many years, the U.S. recently felt the impact when the California wildfires of 2017 swept through the state. “This is all new to us, and it has transformed the wine industry in California,” Tom Eddy, owner of Tom Eddy Winery in Napa told The Grapevine Magazine. “In California, we really only had one wildfire event that caused problems, and that was in 2008. Then, we as winemakers were somewhat naïve — we thought, ‘Well, it’s just an act of God, and it happens,’ but we didn’t do much about it. We tried to remove it later when we discovered it. Some winemakers threw their wine away, some tried to blend it out, which they could do to some extent, and some just made it and bottled it and called it Barbecue Red.” Eddy, whose winery was at the epicenter of the Tubbs Fire, lost much of his 2017 wine, representing a $2.5 million loss.
According to Eddy, the California wildfires of 2017 were “a wake-up” call. “Now, everybody’s cognizant about smoke taint,” he said. “We’re investigating how smoke taint affects the juice and the wine, how to analyze smoke taint, and how to mitigate it.”
Researchers in the U.S., specifically at top enology programs at the University of California at Davis and Washington State University, are investigating ways to minimize the problem in the vineyard and the wine, but, as Eddy said, “We are still learning.”
While there are few definitive answers, experts have determined that the key factors influencing smoke taint are grape growth state, smoke composition, length of smoke exposure, and grape variety. Grapes are most vulnerable to smoke taint between veraison and harvest.
Once the grapes start ripening, the grape skins more quickly absorb smoke particles. As for smoke composition and duration, studies have shown that just 30 minutes of exposure to heavy smoke at a sensitive stage of vine development will cause smoke taint. Beyond that, little is known about how the specific source of the smoke affects the smoke taint composition in wine grapes.
Similarly, research is ongoing into the vulnerability of specific wine grapes to smoke taint. Some experts claim that varieties with thicker skins such as Cabernet Sauvignon are more resistant, while the thin-skinned Pinot Noir is very susceptible. In fact, there have been instances where density and duration of smoke were so intense that damage occurred irrespective of grape variety. There is a consensus on two factors related to smoke taint, however: smoke taint is not a health hazard, nor do tainted aromas pass from one harvest year to the next.
Testing and Mitigating
As concerns about the risks of smoke taint continue to grow, many research institutions and private firms are offering tests for smoke taint by measuring two of the main volatile phenols in smoke, guaiacol, and 4-methylguaiacol. Tests include pre-harvest berry testing, as well as sensory assessment of a small-scale ferment made from the same grapes. While these tests may be objective, they do not consider the arbitrary factor of whether the wine is significantly damaged. “It’s very subjective,” Eddy said. “Some can taste smoke taint right away; others can’t. Some can taste it in certain varieties, some in others. Everybody has different recognition for smoke, alcohol, sugar and other characteristics.”
Winemakers, too, are getting into the act and experimenting with winemaking practices that can mitigate smoke taint to some extent. One such method is “flash détente,” where volatile compounds are removed from the grapes by heating them to about 180° F and sending them into a vacuum chamber to be cooled. While this process may remove some volatile aromas, it is not 100% effective.
According to an American Wine Society blog, “it may remove the taint below the detection threshold of approximately five to six ppm if the level of smoke taint is slightly over that amount, but it is not going to take a 50-ppm smoke taint level and lower it to three.” Even then, adds the blog, “it is difficult to say what aromatic precursors in the wine may react with the smoke taint volatiles making the taint detectable at lower levels.” Other options for removal include using reverse osmosis, but this method is said only to be a temporary fix, and the smoke taint returns over time. Filtering and fining agents may also be effective, but the processes will remove many desirable attributes from the wine as well.
Insurance
To Eddy, one of the most significant challenges with smoke taint is how the problem is affecting the insurance industry. “Smoke taint is a problem that is new for the insurance industry,” he said. “Policies for smoke taint are not specific, so each insurance company approaches it differently.” If a grape is damaged in the field, Eddy explained, that comes under crop insurance, and few growers in California have that, as it’s designed to cover hazards such as frost damage and hail. While most wineries have insurance that covers stock loss by contamination, insurance companies haven’t yet addressed smoke taint as a contaminant.
As a wine consultant, Eddy is knee-deep in insurance research. “I’ve worked with over 100 winemakers in the last year on this issue, and there’s such a range of opinions. On one end of the spectrum, one guy says his wine is ruined, and he’s throwing it down the drain. On the other end, a guy says, ‘It’s okay, I’m making the wine.’ Insurance companies are taking the low road or the high road. They can say the wine is not damaged or agree that the wine is damaged and decide what it’s worth on the market today. When I look at smoke taint damage, part of my assignment is to determine the extent of the damage for all parties concerned.” In the future, Eddy believes, all growers will have crop insurance, and insurance companies will put smoke taint — along with specifics related to damage — in their policies. “We have never had this,” Eddy said. “This is the outcome of what happened in 2017 in California.”
Clearly, with global warming, the problem of smoke taint is here to stay. “We thought 2017 was a once-in-a-hundred-year event, but then 2018 was worse,” Eddy told The Grapevine Magazine. “There’s no reason to believe this isn’t going to continue. Every year, we’re going to have issues.” In 2017, Napa was fortunate, because 80% of the grapes were already harvested when the fire broke out, and, according to Eddy, impact on the consumer was minimal. Next time around, winegrowers might not be so blessed. However, with leading smoke taint scientists helping the industry prepare for future wildfires, the damage may one day be contained.
When most people think of patents, they think of new machines, new medicines, or improved manufacturing processes. These inventions are protected by “utility patents.” Some people may also be familiar with “design patents,” which protect a novel ornamental design, such as the front grill of a luxury car. But, there is a third class of patents with which most people are unfamiliar, “plant patents.” As the name suggests, plant patents protect new plant varieties, such as a new strain of wine grape vine.
Not all plants are eligible for patent protection, however. United States Code, Title 35, Section 161 provides that: “[w]hoever invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state, may obtain a patent therefore…”
There are some key words in that statute, most importantly, “asexually reproduces.” Asexually propagated plants are not grown from seeds, but by rooting of cuttings, layering, budding, grafting, inarching, etc. Plants capable of sexual reproduction are not excluded from patent eligibility if they are also capable of being reproduced asexually. “Tuber propagated plants” are those that are grown from short, thickened portions of an underground branch, such as the Irish potato or the Jerusalem artichoke. The policy reason for excluding these asexually produced plants is that they are propagated by the same part of the plant that is sold as food.
A Brief History
Prior to enactment of the U.S. Plant Patent Act of 1930, two factors kept plants from patent protection. First, even plants that were artificially bred were considered products of nature. Second, it was thought that plants were not capable of being described in sufficient detail to satisfy the rigorous requirements of 35 U.S.C. §112(a), which provides that the application for a patent “shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same…” In enacting the U.S. Plant Patent Act, Congress recognized the contribution made by someone who creates a plant that did not otherwise exist in nature and relaxed the written description requirement for plant patents to, “a description… as complete as is reasonably possible.”
Should You Patent Your New Variety of Wine Grape Vine?
If you develop a new variety of wine grape vine that is particularly well suited for a certain growing environment, or yields more grape juice per acre than its precursor varieties, or is resistant to smoke taint, or just has a unique flavor profile, it may have significant market value. If so, there are two ways to protect your discovery. First, you could simply keep the new variety a trade secret. This would require that you only share the details of the variety with those who need the information to do their job and take measures to ensure that no cuttings, seeds, or other materials leave your property that could be used to reproduce the new plant. If someone else independently develops your variety, you will have little recourse against their use of the new vine.
A plant patent enables you to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant, from using, offering for sale, selling in, or importing into, the United States, the plant so reproduced, or any of its parts (e.g., grapes) without your written permission or license. How they acquire the new variety is irrelevant; possession of illegally propagated plants of a patented species is infringement, even if the reproduction is inadvertent. Not only does this protect your ability to maintain exclusive use of the new variety, but it can open a new revenue stream as the patent can be licensed, giving you a royalty for every vine of the new variety that is sold. As with other forms of patents, the downsides to seeking the protection of a plant patent are the initial cost (which can be about $8,000) and the limited term of protection (20 years from the application filing date).
How Do I Apply for a Plant Patent?
As with utility and design patents, it is possible for you to file and prosecute your own plant patent application. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, however, has very strict rules and processes for how applications are to be made and, in most cases, it is much simpler to hire a competent patent attorney to handle the application process for you. Regardless of whether you hire an attorney or do it yourself, there is some information you will have to provide.
The application must give “as full and complete a disclosure as possible of the plant and the characteristics thereof that distinguish the same over related known varieties… and must particularly point out where and in what manner the variety of plant has been asexually reproduced.” As an example, U.S. Plant Patent No. 30,263, “Grape Plant Named ‘Crimson Pearl,’” issued on March 5, 2019 and contained the following description:
“’Crimson Pearl’ is a new and distinct variety of grape plant selected from a group of seedlings resulting from a controlled cross of female parent `MN 1094` (not patented) and male parent `E.S. 4-7-26` (not patented) carried out at Hugo, Minn. in 1996. `Crimson Pearl` was selected for its excellent winter hardiness, late bud break in springtime and excellent suitability as a red wine grape. Asexual propagation by hardwood cutting was first carried out in 2002 at Hugo, Minn.; subsequent asexual propagations have shown the variety to be stable and to reproduce true to type through successive generations.”
Notice that the plant was first created in 1996 and the first asexual reproduction was carried out in 2002, yet the application for this patent was not filed until 2016 and issued in 2019. This is an important point, because plant patents are subject to the requirements of 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1), which provides that the applicant will not be entitled to a patent if the claimed invention was “described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.” In this case, twenty years elapsed between the first creation of the variety and the filing date. In order to satisfy section 102, therefore, the inventor must not have described the new variety in any printed publication or sold the vine or made it publicly available during that twenty year period.
As part of the application, photographs or detailed drawings that are artistically and competently executed must be included of the plant. If color is a distinguishing characteristic of the new variety, the photographs or drawings must be submitted in color. In some cases, the examiner may also require that the applicant submit specimens of the plant, or its flower or fruit, at a time in its stage of growth that the examiner designates, for study and inspection (though if the examiner requests a specimen in the form of a bottle of finished wine, the request should be viewed with a bit of skepticism).
As with utility patents, examination of the application involves a comparison of the claimed invention to the “prior art” (i.e., the plants known to have existed before the application). Generally, this comparison involves a search of appropriate subclasses of the US patent classification system as well as patent and non-patent literature databases. In some cases, however, an examiner will request an analysis from the Agricultural Research Service, Horticultural Research Branch of the Department of Agriculture. The authority for this type of request comes from an Executive Order issued by President Herbert Hoover in 1930.
Because plant patents apply only to the whole plant and not parts thereof, they must be claimed in their entirety. In other words, your patent should not claim “a new variety of grape characterized by…” or be titled, “A New Variety of Grape, named ‘XYZ,’” because it is not the grape itself that is subject to the patent, but the entire grape vine.
This raises the question of why a new variety has to be “named” at all. The answer lies in The International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (generally known by the French acronym “UPOV Convention”). As a signatory to this convention, the United States requires the applicant to include a “variety denomination” for the new plant. The examiner must evaluate this denomination to ensure it is not identical with or confusingly similar to other names utilized in the United States or other UPOV member countries for the same or a closely related species. Further the proposed denomination must not mislead the average consumer as to the characteristics, value, or identity of the patented plant. If this language seems familiar, it is essentially the same standard that is applied for evaluation of a trademark application.
Conclusion
Plant patents are a useful tool to protect new varieties of grape vines. Growers should be aware not only of the ability to protect their discoveries, but of the basic requirements to obtain patent protection and the actions that may potentially jeopardize their opportunities to seek protection. A knowledgeable patent attorney, engaged early in the process, can help to identify those new varieties that are eligible for a plant patent and to avoid waiving potential patent rights.
Brian Kaider is a principal of KaiderLaw, an intellectual property law firm with extensive experience in the craft beverage industry. He has represented clients from the smallest of start-up breweries to Fortune 500 corporations in the navigation of regulatory requirements, drafting and negotiating contracts, prosecuting trademark and patent applications, and complex commercial litigation.
With the intensity of the wine season gearing up and peak times just around the corner, how prepared are you to protect the health and safety of your workers? Protecting your employees is crucial to attaining your orchard and vineyard goals and having a successful operation. Having a solid and functioning safety plan in force results in better productivity, enables your workers to thrive and contribute to the performance of your business. A good safety program is a win –win for everyone!
Regardless of the size of your operation, it is your responsibility as an employer, to have a safety program in place. Depending on the size of your operation, your safety program may be informal or it may need to be more formal in nature – every winery is different. You’ll obviously want to abide by any government safety regulations that apply but there are also several safety management practices that will help you better demonstrate your commitment to safety, provide a safer working environment for your workers and yield you more efficiencies within your business. It is not uncommon for a winery to produce a safety manual from an online template, issue it to their workers, briefly review it during a new employee training session and in turn, believe they have an effective safety program. Even though doing this is important, there are additional ways to visibly support your safety program to the point where it actually becomes “operationalized” into your day-to-day activities. Outlined below you will find some of the ways we have found to be very effective to visibly demonstrate your support of your safety program.
Effective Ways to Promote a Safety Program at a Winery
Safety Policy and Program
Draft a safety policy statement and sign it, better yet, have all of your supervisors sign it too.
Make sure that your workers receive this policy statement either through an employee handbook, an employee bulletin board posting or through new employee orientations and meetings.
Safety responsibilities should be formally assigned to a single individual to coordinate safety compliance efforts, accident investigation, and emergency procedures.
Verify that appropriate safety responsibilities are also defined for everyone else.
Work with either your insurance carrier or your insurance broker to establish an internal claims cost containment or return to work policy to reduce post-accident injury expenses.
Hold supervisors accountable in annual performance reviews in part for safety objectives and/or the accident results of their workers.
Safety Rules and Standards
Workers need to know how to safely do their job by having general work procedures and safety rules developed for your winery operation. High risk procedures like confined space entry, lockout / tagout, any work at heights, etc., need to be in writing.
Safety rules are as important as any other part of your business. Write them so they are simple and easy to understand. Distribute them to all workers and have them sign an acknowledgment of understanding. Also post them in a common area as a reminder to everyone.
Have a disciplinary system in place to deal with any safety rule violations.
Develop a plan for winery emergencies like natural disasters and fires to make sure your workers know how to effectively respond in emergency situations.
Safety Training
Make sure you have a safety orientation plan in place. Complete the orientation before workers begin a new job. Workers need hands on job training.
Train your supervisory personnel so they can conduct safety inspections related to workplace safety hazards or applicable regulations in their area on a regular basis.
Review your winery operations to determine the safety training needs for all work areas. This would include areas such as: emergency response to fire or injury, confined space, electrical safety, handling of chemicals, fall prevention and wearing of personal protective equipment, just to mention a few.
Supervisory safety training sessions should be held regularly, addressing the following: accident investigation, conducting safety talks, understanding workers compensation, complying with government safety regulations, completing safety inspections, and controlling employee accident costs, as needed.
Safety Inspections
Formal safety inspections should be conducted regularly by supervisors or other management staff. Document the results of these inspections.
On a daily basis, supervisors should routinely conduct informal safety inspections with any negative findings documented and corrected.
Consider developing customized safety inspection checklists for each area to ensure your inspections are thorough and consistent.
Have a follow-up system in place to make sure that systematic corrective action is being taken on the deficiencies noted during safety inspections.
Regularly update your safety inspection procedures and checklists by utilizing information generated in accident investigation reports so you can prevent recurring incidents.
Accident Investigation
Have a supervisor (of the employee) investigate all injuries requiring medical treatment along with any “near misses” to make sure they don’t happen again.
Maintain accident statistics about injuries that occur in your winery operation and review them regularly in management staff meetings. An accident occurring within your facility should be considered a significant winery operational deficiency and you should appropriately take corrective measures for each one.
3. Focus on fact finding, not fault finding to avoid attributing accident causes to employee carelessness or possible fraud on accident investigation reports. Identify the underlying root cause(s) for each accident.
Have a first aid treatment procedure in place to help effectively reduce the severity of work-related injuries. You should include:
c) Employees trained / certified in first aid. First aid training is often available through local organizations such as the Red Cross, local fire departments, EMS, etc. Check your local area listings.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Conduct a hazard assessment of your winery operations to determine any personal protective needs and requirements for your workers. Make sure appropriate PPE is readily available to all workers, they are trained in its use and they follow all established requirements.
Hold your supervisory personnel responsible for enforcing the use of PPE devices. This would include such items as safety glasses, proper footwear, gloves, and hearing protection, etc.
On a periodic basis, review accident and inspection reports to evaluate the use or need for any additional personal protective equipment devices.
Motivation
Demonstrate safety is a priority at your winery by holding regular meetings with your workers and supervisors to talk about any safety concerns. Keep minutes of each of these meetings with what was talked about and who attended.
Have an “alternative duty” transitional work program in place to encourage injured workers to remain on the job in restricted capacity.
Consider having a constructive policy in place to address workers who have had two more injuries or property damage accidents during any twelve-month period of time.
Establish ideas and plans to motivate all workers to follow existing safety policies/procedures in an effort to achieve specific safety goals through such methods as personal recognition, bonuses, awards, etc.
Mechanical Safeguards
Survey any high accident areas, materials, processes or buildings annually if you are having occurrences to specifically evaluate the adequacy of your equipment safeguards and/or OSHA machinery guarding compliance.
Identify and provide appropriate signage where guarding is required. Develop procedures when guards are required to be removed for service or maintenance.
If protected by interlocks or safety switch, inspect these systems regularly to verify that they have not been disabled or bypassed.
General Operating Conditions
Maintain good housekeeping practices in all of your working areas so as to reduce slip, trip and fall hazards.
Prohibit the climbing on racks in any storage or warehousing operations. Provide and encourage the use of sound, sturdy ladders.
If forklifts are used, provide required training to all operators. Order pickers, if used, must work from an approved platform and wear appropriate fall protection.
Tractors, mowers and other power equipment should be provided with appropriate rollover protective devices (ROPS).
Vehicle Safety
Motor vehicle records should be routinely obtained for all new drivers and updated annually.
Motor vehicle records should be evaluated using a defined point system for all drivers on an annual basis.
A record of training should be maintained on file for all personnel who have access to and operate vehicles, farm equipment, vans or other powered equipment during the course of their employment.
Accident reporting kits should be kept in all vehicle glove compartments.
Drivers should conduct vehicle inspections daily.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, safety doesn’t need to be complicated. You can keep your program simple so that it meets the needs of your winery. Remember that:
Safety doesn’t happen without the person in charge and everyone else standing up and taking responsibility.
No one single person can be responsible for safety – more people making safety a priority correlated to fewer people being injured.
Stay with it – safety isn’t about written rules and handbooks, it’s about thinking about the potential dangers and what needs to be done to keep everyone safe.
By “pairing” these safety program components with what you and your workers do, you’ll be better prepared to meet the busy times ahead with safer and fewer injured employees. You, your employees and your business will all benefit!
The information provided in this article is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as all encompassing, or suitable for all situations, conditions, and environments. Please contact us or your insurance professional if you have any questions. Products and services are offered through Markel Specialty, a business division of Markel Service Incorporated (national producer number 27585). Policies are written by one or more Markel insurance companies. Terms and conditions for rate and coverage may vary.
Having worked in intellectual property for nearly 20 years, I often take for granted that people have a working knowledge of the different types of IP rights. That misconception is frequently revealed when a friend or family member (with whom I’ve had many conversations about IP) asks, “didn’t you patent that company’s logo?” “Well, no,” I explain, “but, I did get it federally registered as a trademark.” Taking a step back, I realize that it can be quite confusing. So, this article is meant to introduce the four main types of intellectual property and how they apply to the wine industry.
Patents Protect Ideas – Sort Of
Most people have a general understanding that a patent protects an “invention” or idea. In a very general sense, that’s true. But, while Congressional authority to grant patent rights comes directly from the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8), exactly what is patentable is the subject of tremendous confusion even among federal judges; sometimes requiring clarification from the U.S. Supreme Court. The purpose behind patents is to encourage innovation by granting exclusive rights to one’s discoveries for a limited time. In other words, it gives the patent holder a limited-term monopoly on his invention. Generally, new machines, chemicals, electronics, methods of production, and in some cases, methods of doing business, are eligible for patent protection.
Ideas alone, however, are not patentable. They must first be “reduced to practice,” meaning that either the inventor must have actually created the invention or have described it in sufficient detail that someone skilled in that area could follow the disclosure and create it themselves. So, one can’t get a patent on a time machine, because (at least for now) no one has figured out how to defy the time-space continuum. In addition, to be patentable, ideas must be novel, meaning that no one else has ever disclosed that idea before, and non-obvious, meaning that the idea cannot be an obvious variant on someone else’s invention.
Given that humans have been making wine for thousands of years, one might think that coming up with something novel in the winemaking process would be impossible. Not so. In preparation for this article, I ran a quick search of patents containing the word “wine” in the title and got 1184 hits. Some recent examples include U.S. Patent No. 10,124,305 – “Agitation device for red wine production,” U.S. Patent No. 10,113,979 – “Systems, probes, and methods for dielectric testing of wine in bottle,” and U.S. Patent No. 10,005,993 – “Combined wine fermenter and press.” Improvements in any area of the wine industry may be patentable including: new types of bottles, decanters, closures, and caps; improved methods of separating grapes from stems; new processing equipment; improved testing procedures; improved packaging; etc. Essentially, anything that lowers costs between the vine and the consumer, improves the quality of the wine, or enhances the consumer experience is worth considering for patent protection.
One word of caution, however; time is of the essence. The America Invents Act of 2011, brought the U.S. in line with most other countries in being a “first to file” system, meaning if two people develop the same invention, the first to file for patent protection wins, regardless of who first came up with the idea. Also, any public disclosure of your idea (such as a trade show) starts a 1-year clock to file or you may lose your eligibility for patent protection.
Copyrights Protect Creative Works
The authority for copyright protection stems from the same section of the U.S. Constitution as patent protection, discussed above. Our founding fathers recognized the valuable contribution made to society by authors and artists and, therefore, sought to encourage creative expression by providing protection for artistic works. Examples of copyrightable materials include, books, paintings, sculptures, musical compositions, and photographs.
Unlike inventive ideas, which are only protected when the government issues a patent to the inventor, copyrights attach at the moment the artistic work is “fixed” in a tangible medium. So, for example, if a composer develops a new musical score in her head it isn’t protected, but the moment she translates that tune to notes on a page or computer screen, it becomes protected by copyright. In order to enforce that copyright in court, however, it must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. While it is possible to wait until an infringer comes along before filing for registration, doing so can severely limit the damages that may be available to the author of the creative work. So, early registration is the better course.
In the wine industry, copyright issues often crop up with regard to who owns the artwork contained within a label or marketing material. Generally, the author of a work owns the copyright. But, if an employee of the winery, acting within the scope of their employment, creates an image that the winery owner incorporates into its labels, that picture is considered a “work made for hire” and is owned by the winery. Where disputes often arise, however, is if the winery hires an outside artist or a branding agency to develop the artwork. In that case, the winery should include language in its contract requiring assignment of all copyrights to the winery for the created artistic works.
Trademarks Protect “Source Identifiers”
People generally associate trademarks with the protection of a brand. In more technical terms, what a trademark protects is a “source identifier.” The purpose of trademark law is to protect consumers from being misled or mistaken as to the source of a product. So, for example, if a consumer sees a pair of shoes with a certain famous “swoosh” image on the side, they should be reasonably able to assume that pair of shoes was manufactured by Nike, Inc. and was made with the same degree of workmanship and quality that they have come to expect from that company. That “swoosh” symbol, therefore, acts as a source identifier to tell the public that the product was made by Nike, Inc.
What may function as a trademark can be quite broad, including: the name of the business (e.g., Sterling Vineyards®), a logo (e.g., the “swoosh”), a color (e.g., the Home Depot orange or the UPS brown), even a scent (e.g., Verizon owns a trademark on a “flowery musk scent” it pumps into its stores to help distinguish them from competitors’ environments). However, slogans, words, and images that appear merely as decoration will not qualify for protection unless the applicant can demonstrate that the item has achieved “secondary meaning,” i.e., that the public has come to associate that item with the manufacturer. For example, in the 1970’s McDonalds used the slogan, “You deserve a break today” in its commercials and other advertising. People came to associate this phrase with McDonalds and in 1973 they were granted a trademark registration.
In general, marks also cannot be descriptive of the product or geographically descriptive of the source in order to be registered as a trademark. For example, one could not obtain a registration for just the words “Red Wine.,” because it simply describes the product and does nothing to differentiate it from every other red wine on the market. Similarly, an attempt in the year 2000 to register the name “Napa Valley Winery” was refused, because the applicant could not demonstrate that people had come to associate that name with its business as opposed to the hundreds of other wineries in Napa Valley.
Trade Secrets Protect Valuable Confidential Business Information
Unlike other forms of intellectual property, there is no registration system for trade secrets, because, by their very nature, they must be protected from all unnecessary disclosure. Trade secrets can be just about anything that is confidential to your business and gives you a competitive advantage. Some examples, include recipes, client lists, manufacturing processes, marketing plans, and client lists.
One of the most famous trade secrets is the formula for Coca-Cola, which has been kept secret for more than 130 years, sometimes through extraordinary measures. In 1977, The Coca Cola Company withdrew its product from India, because in order to sell there, they would have had to disclose the formula to the government. They decided it was more prudent to forego sales to one of the biggest populations on earth rather than risk disclosure of their secret recipe.
Protecting trade secrets requires constant vigilance in two ways. First, the information should only be disseminated to people within the company, or outside consultants, who need the information in order to perform their duties for the company. Second, those few people who are given access, should sign non-disclosure agreements with harsh penalties for breach of their duty of confidentiality. Once the information gets out, it’s nearly impossible to un-ring that bell, so there must be severe financial consequences to someone who leaks the information.
Conclusion
While patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets are four distinct forms of intellectual property and serve different functions, sometimes more than one form of IP can apply to the same item. The business advantages and disadvantages of each form of IP should be weighed to determine the best course of action. For example, a product’s life-cycle may have a lot to do with whether a company chooses to protect how the product works through patent or trade secret. If the innovative feature relates to a cellular telephone device, patent protection is probably the best course, because by the time the patent expires and a competitor could use the technology, it will likely be obsolete. Conversely, a novel process in fermenting wine may have value long after a patent would expire and would, therefore, be better suited to trade secret protection. A knowledgeable intellectual property attorney, engaged early in the process, can help develop the most effective strategy to protect your valuable intangible assets.
Brian Kaider is a principal of KaiderLaw, an intellectual property law firm with extensive experience in the craft beverage industry. He has represented clients from the smallest of start-up breweries to Fortune 500 corporations in the navigation of regulatory requirements, drafting and negotiating contracts, prosecuting trademark and patent applications, and complex commercial litigation.
OK– your wine smells good but can it have a better aroma? Always keep this in mind as a winemaker or winery owner. The largest violation of “house palate”, a process where winemakers overlook their wine flaws because they taste their own wines too often, is the oversight that their wines may be reduced. Reduced or reductive is a broad term that covers many sulfide compounds ranging from hydrogen sulfide, rotten egg, to other more complex aromatics that may smell like cabbage, dill weed, onions or even garlic.
Early detection of these flaws is imperative to clean up the wines and to make sure these compounds do not evolve toward other more difficult to remove compounds, mercaptans, often needing ascorbic acid additions to make the wine reactive to the most commonly used remedy copper sulfate.
Copper sulfate trials are extremely easy and there is no excuse for each wine created not to go through at least three quick trials with copper sulfate to see if the wine aroma will indeed become improved.
When? The author recommends each wine be reviewed:
Anytime one suspects a wine to be reduced or smells hydrogen sulfide in the fermenter.
Review all wines just after the fermentation process as a blanket rule process to discover any wines that may improve from the copper sulfate addition.
Three months prior to bottling and preferably before any stability processing actions have been taken.
Roughly three days before bottling.
Why? As suggested, in the first sentence of this article, winemakers should review each wine’s aroma to see if faults exist. Some of the faults do not express themselves directly as Hydrogen Sulfide or Mercaptans. Some wines may have just enough of one of these compounds, or both, to lightly mask the underlying fruit expression. Winemakers may not know nice smelling wine can actually smell nicer. It is an easy test – so why not run these trails!
Where? Most winemakers will perform this test in the winery laboratory, away from the chill of the cellar floor, where a wine will have the ability to open up and allow for undisrupted critical analysis of the wine’s aroma. If winemakers cannot find this tranquility in their winery, it is recommended to take a sample home and do the trials in a home environment. One must be able to focus and have conditions for the wine to open up. This is critical.
Tools needed
Clean wineglasses with a narrow focused opening to the bowl (I.N.A.O. style). All exact same size and style.
Glass watch covers for each glass (optional but highly recommended).
Representative samples of each wine to be sampled.
1.0% Copper Sulfate solution (One percent).
Spit cup.
Clear and “in tune” nasal passages.
How? This test is very easy to perform as long as the environment is proper for the aroma analysis. If possible, work closely with someone else to mix up the wineglasses after treatment so you will be blind on this analysis. If this can’t be done – do proceed since experience will help take any bias out of the results.
Place three (“aroma free”) dry clean wine glasses on a table and label them x, 4 and > or any other random characters that may not lead a person to select one wine glass over another but allow them to identify what glass or glasses may be different.
Fill each glass with the same quantity of wine. This is often between 80-100 milliliters per wine glass depending on the wine glass size.
Have another person place 1 drop of the 1% Copper Sulfate into one of the glasses and to swirl all three glasses equally to mix the addition into the wine and to treat each glass equally with a swirl.
Place watch glasses over each of the glass openings and leave the glasses to sit for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Approach the wine glasses and remove the watch glasses one at a time to smell the aromas in the headspace of the glass. Go through the wines at least three times and perhaps more to select the wine that smells the best. Record your results.
Leave the wine glasses for another 15 minutes or longer and re-approach in the same fashion by smelling each wine individually and select the glass or glasses that smell the best.
After determining that the wine is actually changed and changed for the better, have the person that added the copper sulfate to the glass reveal the glass that was treated.
Mentally extrapolate after collecting all the data whether the addition of copper sulfate had a positive impact on the wine or not. Be aware not to select the copper sulfate addition wine – just because it is different. The wine should smell better – not just different.
Once an addition is deemed helpful, proceed to making the adjustment in the cellar as referenced below under calculation. This test is not quantitative.
This test is sometimes known as a triangle test.
Spicing it Up!
Once you and your assistant get comfortable with the test, he or she can be instructed to switch around the treatment regime to perhaps treat two of the three wineglasses. This will keep the person smelling the wines on their toes to actually identify what wine smells better and to truly focus on the improved wine.
Referencing the fact that a spit cup was listed under the “Tools needed” list above, one should have their spit cup ready. This should be used if by habit one should accidentally taste the wines. Remember, technically, Copper Sulfate is a poison so winemakers should resist tasting our trails and only focus on the aromas.
One can build on this test to correct Mercaptans, also. Mercaptans are Hydrogen Sulfide based compounds that have transformed to a more complicated chemical compound. Ascorbic acid trials may need to be tested for effectiveness in these cases. Reference other sources to review this process as it will not be covered at this time.
Calculation:
In my opinion there is no truly reliable calculation for this test to determine quantitatively how much copper sulfate to add. In most cases it is best to add small quantities of copper sulfate to a wine nearing the range of 1.0 gram per 1000 gallons to as low as one-half a gram per 1000 gallons to clean up small defects. This is a good starting point. From experience, you may start to recognize a wine that may need more Copper Sulfate to combat more pungent aromas. This chemical is a strong oxidizer so use limited amounts. Overuse could have serious downsides to your wine.
Removal of Copper After Use
In most cases, only small amounts of copper sulfate are used to clean up a wine so we rarely need to address lowering the copper content in the wine. Please recognize when larger quantities have been used. Use an outside laboratory to actually measure the amount of residual copper in your wine. In many cases, for white wines treated prior to protein fining with bentonite, they may clean up on their own. The author has seen copper levels drop significantly after protein fining and filtering of white wines. Many years ago, wines may have needed a “Blue-Fining” but one rarely has those issues in today’s winemaking plus they are not permitted in the United States.
The Future
According to some scientist we need to more closely look at nutrients and their role with the yeast. In some cases too much or too little nutrients may cause Hydrogen Sulfide production and it is thought to link into the micronutrients. Nitrogen issues may not be the driving factor here. This will help us stay away from using copper sulfate, which does have adverse affects to the wine in addition to cleaning the wine up sensorialy. Until that time we need to address the problem in a fashion we can, such as copper sulfate. Stay tuned.
Other Helpful Tips
Caution is expressed not to confuse a change in aroma in the wine with this being considered better. This is called “Stripping”.
Caution is also expressed not to consume / taste wines that have added copper sulfate added during these trials.
Do these trials next to any wine that may be a follow-up bottling for that wine to see if consistency is achieved and to focus on other nuances that may easily be changed.
The Tax and Trade Bureau does regulate the amount of copper sulfate a winemaker may use.
Please research this amount and have a clear understanding of the use of copper sulfate. It is a strong oxidizer and considered poisonous.
A reduced character may become hard to notice if the wine has just been racked, transferred, filtered or in any way brought into a less anaerobic state.
These reductive compounds may be just under the threshold of the human nose sensitivity and difficult to smell. If this same wine is bottled, the reductive character may become very pronounced.
Screw cap wines may need more serious aroma reviews and evaluation since these seals are more anaerobic than previous seals. Caution is urged when making wine to be bottled under screw cap to make sure no underlying reductiveness is present. Outside labs also offer “headspace sniffing” if one feels they need additional help.
Wines exposed to light may become “lightstruck”. Light struck is a term used to describe that light has attacked an amino acid and caused a mercaptan-type aroma. This phenomenon is somewhat more common with flint bottles and sparkling wines.
References:
Amerine, M.A., Berg, H.W., Cruess,W.V. 1972. The Technology of Wine Making
