Category: Winery Info

Practical Brettanomyces Control in the Cellar

Cyndi

By: Thomas J. Payette, Winemaking Consultant

yeast under a microscope

Many winemakers overlook some of the practical control aspects of minimizing Brettanomyces [Brett] growth in their wines.  This article will address some of the items and their circumstances that we should keep in mind while working with our juices and wines.  This article is more a reflection of experience than one jammed with technical data.  It is assumed the reader knows and is aware of Brettanomyces.  To better understand what a Brett microbe might look like please see the author’s portrayal photograph.  This is obviously humor ladies and gentleman to set the stage.

Cleanliness

  No doubt – the first aspect of controlling Brett is cleanliness.  A dirty cellar with poor equipment hygiene will make keeping most bacteria/yeast in the wines in check almost impossible to achieve.  A sound, clean winery will be the assumed premise of this article. Where you take your pomace after pressing should enter your mind in respect to Brett.  Insects from the pomace pile may not just stay at the pomace pile and they may assist in moving brett from the pomace pile to your open bin fermentation vessels or other winemaking contact surfaces, etc

Chemistry

  Most seasoned winemakers realize certain pH levels and free sulfur dioxide levels have limiting affects on many bacteria and spoilage yeasts.  This article will assume the winemaker has his/her finger on the pulse of their wines’ chemistries and understands these chemistry relationships and their influence on the wine.  This article is looking beyond the normal sound winemaking techniques one should already have in place.

Temperature

  Most wine bacteria grow more rapidly at higher temperatures.  If a winemaker keeps their wines stored, after alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, at or near 50 degrees F one will keep most damaging bacteria greatly in check.  It is the author’s understanding Brettanomyces can grow in a free SO2 of 27 ppm when the ambient temperature of the wine is 65 degrees F. The author has greatly used this understanding as a winemaking tool. 

  Often the author will speak with winery owners to negotiate this agreement: “If I can keep the cellar very cold (near 50 degrees F) in the summer months I will trade off little to no heat in the cellar during the winter.”  [This does exclude the lab area that should remain near 68 degrees F for most proper lab functions]  This is in essence a wash financially, in most regions, but a great help to the wines.  

  In practice, on the average, what may happen is the winery may bottom out in the cold months at 40-45 F and near a short-term peak of 65 degrees F during the summer months.  This small upward spike in temp, time wise, is minimal, given the colder months average, which most bacteria, Brett included, have no to little chance to bloom.  It is recommended one use this tool to his / her advantage and the author will often use the colder months after harvest to store his red wines at reasonably low free SO2 values to help soften and evolve the wines during the early months of aging the wine.  By the warmer months, one should bring the free sulfur dioxide level up to that appropriate to combat undesirable microbes.  Try using temperature as your primary tool and if you haven’t built your winery – don’t skimp on cooling!  

When using cold wine storage as your winemaking tool, keep in mind more gases dissolve in cold liquids than warm liquids.  This can be used to an advantage to soften or “micro-ox” some wines but make sure not to exceed what a wine can handle.  Also, understand a wine may evolve slower at lower temperatures since most reactions also slow at lower temperatures.  Wines are no exception to these rules of science.

Racking Timely

  Aging red wines on yeast lees for an extended period of time can be a stylistic tool in a winemaker’s tool box.  Further note these lees may contain unwanted spoilage yeast and microbes from the harvested fruit and/or equipment used to harvest/process the fruit.  If a red wine is stored on its lees it may be more likely to have a Brett bloom since most literature cites certain yeast/Brett populations are greatly reduced by racking the wine off the yeast lees. 

  Research tests on these lees may show active Brett populations that may not have bloomed, just after the yeast alcoholic fermentation.  If there is any doubt as to the condition of the lees, rack early after fermentation to reduce yeast/bacteria-starting loads.

Vacuum Storage

  Many winemakers store and age their cleanly racked red wines in barrel with solid silicone bungs tightly inserted.  Many new cellars have humidity control to help prevent the “angel’s breath” loss of wine from the barrel.  The same cellars may not be very cool especially in caves since the author has noted some caves, on the west coast, to be at between 62 and 65 degrees F without additional cooling.  With additional cooling, one should allow the humidity to drop to a level that evaporation does happen.  Barrels, with a vacuum in them, are less likely to develop spoilage issues due to a sound food science principal that few to no bacteria/yeast can grow in a vacuum. 

  With normal topping of the barrels, say every 4-6 weeks, one will keep most unwanted microbes in check, including brettanomyces. [The author has no data whatsoever that Brett cannot grow in a vacuum – only practical hands on data for this statement.]

Topping Barrels

  As mentioned earlier barrels may be a great aging vessel; yet, many are unclear as to when and how to top.  Topping barrels can be a stylistic tool even down to the frequency of topping.  In relationship to this article, make sure the topping wine for your barrels is Brett free.  One doesn’t want to make the wrong choice of a Brett infected wine source and unknowingly spread that culture throughout the winery spanning a number of barrels.  The author chooses to use similar wine known to be free from Brett of filtered wine, to the proper micron level, that Brett should not be an issue.  Topping, as mentioned in previous articles, can be a major potential source of cross-contamination.

Filtrations

  It is the authors understanding that Brettanomyces yeast has a size range of near 0.80 to 1.1 microns.  With this in mind, we can understand better what size filtrations may be needed to reduce or eliminate the potential of Brett.

  Filtration can be done at anytime during the wines life; but, if successful, with the storage and aging of the wines in the cellar one may just consider the filtration at or near bottling to be the safety net needed as a “just in case” measure. 

  Assuming all malic acid and fermentable sugar have been depleted, one may consider a 0.8 or 0.65 micron absolute pore size filtration.  Care must be taken to keep the pressure down during the filtration step to make sure excess pressure doesn’t allow the yeast to formidably shoulder through the filter media.  In some cases, winemakers and bottling lines have had to use a 0.65 micron rated filter since the 0.8 micron absolute filter can be difficult to obtain at writing of this article.

Summary

  It should be clear to the reader that beyond sound winemaking basics the best and less invasive control of Brettanomyces in fine wine making is temperature.  If winemakers don’t mind roughing it through the winter months, for the sake of the wine, they will be greatly rewarded in the summer months with a lavishly cool cellar. 

  It is highly recommended we all do this in the honor of fine wine making!  For the sake of your wine keep the cellar cool and Brettanomyces should be of little to no concern in your clean wine cellar!

References: 

  Amerine, M.A., Berg, H.W., Cruess,W.V. 1972. The Technology of Wine Making

  Verbal discussion with:  Mr. Jacques Boissenot, Mr. Jacques Recht, Mr. Joachim Hollerith, Mr. Chris Johnson and Mr. Pete Johns.

Short Course:

•   Trade cooling in the summer for limited heat in the winter in the cellar.

•   Let natural barrel vacuum work for you.

•   Filter when needed.

•   Don’t cross-contaminate.

The Best Bottling Machines: For Wineries & Choosing the Right One

Cyndi

By: Alyssa L. Ochs

As wineries first launch their operations or begin to grow larger, they have the option to either buy their own bottling machines or hire a mobile bottling company. Both of these options have their advantages and disadvantages; however, having your own bottling line can give you greater flexibility and control over the bottling process.

  With the input of bottling companies who work with wineries on a regular basis, here is some information about the bottling machine options available to wineries today and how to choose the right machine for your operations.

Types of Wine Bottling Machines

  When you’re looking at new bottling machines, important considerations are the machines’ sizes, speeds and efficiency. There are options for automatic filling and semi-automatic filling machines, as well as machines that work well with both wine corks and caps.

  Many small wineries start out with limited equipment for bottling, such as a basic bench-top manual filler and semi-automatic labeler. Then as these wineries grow, they must decide whether to purchase a bottling line, lease a bottling line, or hire a mobile bottler. To assess the size of bottling line needed, wineries must consider the total annual production, projected goals for the next five years and what a normal production day looks like for the staff.

  Matt DiDonato from the sales team at Prospero Equipment Corp. in Pleasantville, New York told The Grapevine Magazine how there are lots of options for wineries today, including semi-auto counter pressure fillers for carbonated products and standard gravity fillers for still wine products.

  “There are automatic machines that can fill both still and carbonated products from the same filler valve,” DiDonato said. “The speeds can range from 1,200 BPH up to 16,000 BPH.”

  Prospero has over 40 years of experience in the beverage industry and offers machines for bottling, capping and labeling, as well as packaging solutions for wineries. Prospero’s most popular machine among wineries is the GAI 1301 unit, which can run up to 1,600 bottles per hour.

  “It leaves plenty of room for growth for wineries to bottle up to 10,000 to 15,000 cases and beyond,” DiDonato said. “It also has an option to be equipped with a built-in rotating turret to do both cork and screw cap closures.” 

  Scott Anderson, the national sales manager for Inline Filling Systems (IFS), told The Grapevine Magazine about IFS’s offerings for semi-automatic and fully automatic solutions for wine filling. Based in Venice, Florida, Inline Filling Systems offers turnkey liquid packaging installations with over 700 packaging machinery products and engineering experience spanning 20 years.

  “Our semi-automatic units require operator involvement and do not have moving conveyors,” Anderson said. “These units are very efficient and still yield high production outputs in a small footprint. IFS automatic wine filling equipment can produce more than 100 750-milliliter bottles per minute if necessary. Powered conveyors and bottle management components move bottles to and away from the filling machine and the PLC controls on the filling machines initiate the filling cycles as long as bottles are provided to the filler.”

  For wine filling, IFS provides time gravity and overflow filling machines. Both of these systems are effective, but a client’s product, application and needs will guide a decision about which one to purchase.

  “All of IFS’s machinery is application-specific and involves client feedback with regard to the unique product properties and production goals, Anderson said. “IFS has clients that use both types of filling machines for wine packaging.”

  Based in San Luis Obispo, California, XpressFill Systems LLC has offered a premium bottle-filling system since 2007 that is designed with the highest quality components, ensuring ease of use and long life. Randy Kingsbury of XpressFill said that his company specializes in compact table-top fillers that are affordable and easy to operate. These machines are available in a two-spout and a four-spout configurations with fill rates of 240 to 450 bottles per hours, respectively.

  “Either configuration weighs less than 25 pounds, with a physical size similar to a case of wine,” Kingsbury said. “By using an efficient flow path there is very little waste due to priming for the initial fills or leftover wine in the system at completion.”

  Kingsbury said that the two- and four-bottle capacity Level Fill machines are most popular in the wine industry. This is because the Level Fill machine provides a quick and accurate way to fill bottles to the same levels in the neck for excellent visual appeal.

  “The optional gas sparge ensures optimum quality of the wine being delivered to the customer,” Kingsbury said. “The enclosed system minimizes exposure to the environment. Our equipment is extremely simple to set up and adjusts for various bottle sizes and to clean.”

New Bottling Machine Technology

  Technology is constantly changing when it comes to machinery in the beverage industry, which is good news for wineries looking to integrate new bottling machines into their operations within the next few years. For example, DiDonato of Prospero Equipment said that electro-pneumatic filler valves are a piece of new technology that wineries are particuarly interested in.

  “You can fill just about any non-viscous beverage product on this line, including wine, beer, soda, spirits, water and cider,” DiDonato said. “These valves allow for real-time adjustment from the control panel on the fly, which is a great savings of time and product loss.”

  Anderson of IFS said that one of his company’s core beliefs is constant improvement, which means that their equipment is constantly being enhanced based upon client feedback and equipment performance in the field per application.

  “IFS offers industrial-grade filling machines that run a wide variety of container ranges with few low-cost change parts and an easy-to-understand human-machine interface,” Anderson said. “IFS filling technology offers our clients the lowest total cost of ownership of equipment in the liquid filling industry. IFS filling equipment provides wineries tools to make them more profitable and efficient and offers their consumers a higher quality product than other solutions.”

  Kingsbury of XpressFill said that the newest developments in the wine industry relate to the types of packaging used for going to market.

  “There has been a real push to provide a type of packaging that yields better shelf life and is more versatile for settings where bottles are not allowed because of possible breakage,” Kingsbury said. “An increasingly popular option is providing wine in cans, with wine-in-a-bag being another option.”

  Having enough space for a bottling line is a common concern among wineries, especially smaller ones that are just starting to grow. Fortunately, new bottling equipment designs have been getting smaller in recent years to squeeze into tight spaces much better than in the past. Space-reduction technology often features machines that handle multiple purposes so that only one or two total machines are required for full functionality.

How to Choose the Right Bottling Machine

  There are many factors to consider when choosing a new bottling machine, such as the ideal size of machine for your production and the cost of buying a machine rather than using an outside bottling company. Ease of use, the level of customer service provided, ongoing maintenance and repair needs and the ability to upgrade in the future are also considerations. Talk to other winemakers to see what has been working well for your peers and get machine recommendations from experts in your area who know the ins and outs of bottling. Bottling machine dealers who have good reputations often provide helpful training, tech support, and reasonable service contracts.

  DiDonato from Prospero’s main piece of advice to wineries looking to buy a new bottling machine is to get references and call them.

  “Make sure the machine has a good track record in the market,” he said. “Try to get data or references on the oxygen levels.”

  Anderson of IFS said that IFS filling machines allow wineries and other liquid packaging professionals an opportunity to control their own destinies. This company’s robust machines are American-made and serviced and last at least 20 years.

  “IFS equipment is easy to understand and operate and requires very little maintenance,” Anderson said. “Additionally, IFS offers a full-service parts center with inventories for every machine IFS has ever manufactured over the past 23 years. In short, IFS equipment allows our clients to focus on business growth rather than a financial drain trying to get other providers’ equipment to run.”

  Kingsbury of XpressFill advises new wineries not to over-purchase a system that could take two or more years to reach the full capacity of the equipment.

  “It can be a major financial expenditure, which takes too long to ever recover the investment, if ever,” he said.

  For wineries looking for a system upgrade, Kingsbury’s advice is to perform a cost-benefit analysis based upon the downtime, maintenance and hourly operating cost of the current system versus the potential replacement.

  “Although a new system may have much greater production, the time for setup, configuring for filling and cleaning after filling may be much more labor-intensive and result in a net reduction in cost effectiveness.”

Paradisos del Sol: An Organic Vineyard Paradise

Cyndi

By: Nan McCreary, Sr. Staff Writer, The Grapevine Magazine

man posing beside a dog at a vineyard

When Paul Vandenberg was 10-years-old, he would wait eagerly for his mother’s copy of “Organic Gardening and Farming” to arrive so he could read it cover to cover. When he was 13, he made his first wine out of blackberries. It’s no surprise then that Vandenberg, after studying ecology in college, found his life’s work in an organic vineyard in Washington State.

  “I started working in the wine industry in 1983, just as the vineyard explosion was happening in the state,” Vandenberg told The Grapevine Magazine. “I had always been an organic gardener, but everyone thought I was ‘hippy dippy’ at the time.” Yet several years later, Vandenberg was at Badger Mountain Vineyard when the owner, Bill Powers, was having problems with herbicide drift from wheat fields that were 10 to 20 miles away. Out of frustration, Powers implemented organic farming techniques to help mitigate the problem. And that was Vandenberg’s entrée for his true passion: he was with Badger Mountain when it became Washington’s first certified organic vineyard, and later, was winemaker at Worden’s Winery when he produced the first organic wine in the state, which took Worden’s into the worldwide marketplace.

  Fast forward to 2004 and Vandenberg established his own playground, Paradisos del Sol Winery in Zillah, WA, in the Rattlesnake Hills sub-AVA of the Yakima Valley AVA. For the past 20 years, he has taken organic viticulture to new heights by growing grapes in a pesticide-free environment and producing wines that are pure expressions of the earth. In choosing land for his farm, Vandenberg went to great lengths to locate a property that would meet specific farming requirements. “I did not start growing grapes because I owned the land; I found land where I thought I could grow grapes with the least use of pesticides. It’s one of the sweetest spots on the planet. It has a fine, deep loam soil deposited by the great Missoula floods and is on a ridgetop where the leaves are bathed in high intensity sunlight.” It is this sunlight, Vandenberg said, that acts as a natural deterrent to powdery mildew, a potentially devastating grapevine disease.

  To assure ample sunlight in his vineyards, Vandenberg uses a Divided Canopy Quadrilateral Cordon System (Lyre) developed by UC-Davis research viticulturist Mark Kliewer. In this system, instead of using a single wire to support the cordon and maybe one or two wires to support some of the canopy, the grape grower uses a cross arm to create two cordons, separated horizontally by a meter. “The idea is to have two curtains rising from a cordon wire with an open space in between,” Vandenberg explained. “With more openness in the fruit zone, the fruit is well-exposed to light, which adds to color and flavor in the grapes, and deters powdery mildew.”

  Vandenberg describes his trellising system as a “low-vigor canopy,” defined by international viticulturist Richard Smart as a canopy with no more than 15 shoots per meter of cordon and a shoot length no greater than a meter. A low-vigor canopy on a single-wire system will yield a maximum of four tons per acre; by having a double trellis, the yield is double. “The key is balancing the sun and the shade,” Vandenberg said. “Pruning depends on the variety, and the size of its leaves and berries. But essentially all varieties have the same sort of canopy density, the same openness, and the same ability for light to come in for every leaf and every grape.”

  Vandenberg’s pest control strategies in his vineyard are not just in the canopy; they’re also on the vineyard floor. Here on the surface, cover crops grow year ‘round to support a lively complex of predatory insects in the dirt below. For example, dozens of blooming plants provide pollen and nectar for wasps, which prey on leafhoppers. Also, over 16 identified species of mushroom caps on the surface indicates mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus) web below, which receives sugar from the grapevine roots and in exchange gives nutrients. The objective, said Vandenberg, is to create an environment of well-fed plants so they are able to use their own natural defenses to avoid predators like powdery mildew and leafhoppers. “Biodiversity creates stability and avoids the eruption of populations of pests,” Vandenberg told the Grapevine Magazine. “My soil is not just dirt; it’s a live complex of organisms. That’s what organic gardening is all about.

  The biggest pest problem at Paradisos del Sol, said Vandenberg, is pocket gophers. He is trying to manage this naturally, of course, by building boxes for barn owls, who are the number one predator for gophers. Vandenberg has installed an “owl cam,” so he can watch the owlets grow.

  Like his practices in the vineyard, Vandenberg employs as many natural processes as possible when making wines. “Great wine is grown, not made,” he said. “As a terroirist, I let the wine be what it is. I don’t adjust pH and acidity to some textbook standard.” Paradisos del Sol produces wines from 15 varieties of grapes. Reds include Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Malbec, Pinot Meunier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and two oddballs: Lemberger, a grape widely grown in Austria and Hungary, and Teroldego, a grape from northwest Italy. White wines include Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Riesling, Orange Muscat, White Muscat, and yet another oddball, Xarel·lo, one of the three grapes used in Cava. Vandenberg is the only person in the U.S. to commercially plant Xarel·lo. “Somebody’s got to plant these things and try them out,” he said.

  While Vandenberg grows multiple varieties of grapes, he releases only two varietal wines: a Sangiovese and a barrel-fermented and barrel-aged Chenin Blanc. He uses his red grapes to produce three wines, including a barrel-fermented and barrel-aged Rosé. He also creates blends with his white wines. Vandenberg eschews the use of new barrels, as he wants no heavy oak influences in his wines. “I grow grapes, not oak trees,” he said. “I believe you can get oak flavors in a 12-year-old barrel; my barrels are over 20 years old.

  Vandenberg does use fining and filtering techniques but puts minimal additives in his wine. Typically, ingredients listed on the label of a white wine are: 100% hand-picked sustainably grown organic grapes, yeast, bentonite clay, minimum effective so2 (potassium metabisulfite). Ingredients listed on the label of a red wine are: 100% hand-picked sustainably grown organic grapes, yeast, malolactic culture, minimum effective so2 (potassium metabisulfite). Vandenberg describes his winemaking practices as “old methods.” The wine goes in the barrel as grape juice, with no racking until it is pulled out of the barrel. “I try to provide the vine a perfect environment so that it is healthy and happy and produces fabulous tasting fruit,” he explained. “I don’t mess with it: I just let it do its thing. A barrel in a cool, dark room is a wonderful place to make wine. That’s why it’s been done that way for 2000 years.”

  Vandenberg describes Paradisos del Sol as a “small family estate winery.” He produces less than 2000 cases per year, and all is sold direct-to-consumer. Wine prices range from $7 to $48. Vandenberg runs the operation with his wife, Barbara Sherman (who manages the office), and only hires part-time employees during harvest and shoot thinning and leaf pulling. The vineyard is Certified Organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

  Compared to other wineries, Paradisos del Sol is also an integrated farm, with chickens, turkeys, cattle, pigs, and sheep, who help mow the vineyard during the winter when grapevines are dormant. The tasting room, with views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier, is open daily, and offers visitors an opportunity to taste not just wine, but food paired with the specific wines. The destination is very popular with families, as children can feed chickens and play with the cats and dogs that live on premises. Paradisos del Sol provides picnic facilities and free overnight camping for tents and self-contained RVs. Horses are welcome, with water available for them.

  Indeed, Vandenberg has created an organic paradise in the heart of the Yakima Valley. There, in this garden in the desert, he offers tours and talks to visitors who want to understand more about how he grows his grapes and produces his wines. “People don’t understand what organic means,” he told The Grapevine Magazine. “Organic means a systemic, all-embracing approach to gardening and farming. It’s about manipulating the environment in a way that is favorable to something we want to do.” As an enologist with over 36 years of experience, Vandenberg’s knowledge is vast, but his mantra is simple: “We are a traditional small wine estate dedicated to growing grapes without the use of pesticides and trying to make the best pure and wholesome wines we can.” For more information on Paradisos del Sol visit their website: https://paradisosdelsol.com/Home.htm

Nitrogen Use Remains An Important Part Of Winemaking

Cyndi
Pouring wine or champagne from the green bottle into the wine glass

By: Gerald Dlubala  

There are as many secrets and tricks of the trade-in producing great tasting wines as there are winemakers. But most winemakers can agree that the use of nitrogen is key to the process. Nitrogen application within the winemaking process can be used in every phase of production through dispensing in a tasting room. It is suitable for use in tank blanketing, equipment purging, pump and filter membrane testing, pressure transfers, must lifting and even with centrifuge use. Nitrogen’s predominant use, however, is still in the container filling function.  By introducing nitrogen during the bottle or can filling process to displace the natural oxygen present in the headspace of the containers, the winemaker can better control oxidation, the chemical reaction that can significantly change the consistency, flavor and bouquet of the wine while in its container.

  By controlling the oxidation rate, the shelf life of the wine is significantly extended. And with today’s consumer seeking more convenient packaging choices, the inherent usefulness and benefits of liquid nitrogen dosing increases.

Convenience Packaging Increases Need For Nitrogen Dosing

  “Nitrogen dosing is almost a must in today’s marketplace and will likely remain useful and important for the foreseeable future,” says Jim Fallon, Application Engineer for Vacuum Barrier Corporation, a complete one-source provider of custom and standard liquid nitrogen (LN2) solutions for all applications.

  “When you talk in general terms, there are continuous discussions regarding the reduction of waste and the movement to more recyclables in our environment,” says Fallon. “Realistically, in today’s market, that means more of a movement to aluminum as a more convenient, recyclable, environmentally friendly container for many rigid packaging applications. And in the case of wineries, that means an increase in aluminum can packaging. So now, in addition to the need for oxygen reduction, you’re talking about the need for adding pressure for container stability. Nitrogen dosing addresses both of these issues. The distributed dosage amount is fully customizable, being dependent on the amount of air that is left in the headspace of the container to be filled and where the in-line dosers are located with respect to the sealing, capping or corking operation.”

  Vacuum Barrier Corporation provides complete liquid nitrogen dosing systems, including all the necessary piping from the nitrogen supply through the doser that dispenses the nitrogen in liquid drop form. Using nitrogen in liquid form has shown to be more economical than standard gaseous use. The liquid droplets expand by 700x their volume, so a little goes a long way in pressurizing packages and purging headspace. By dispensing the nitrogen in a liquid state for dosing, it allows the nitrogen droplet to immediately fall to the bottom of the headspace before the rapid transition to its gaseous state, subsequently pushing the oxygen out. Regarding aluminum cans, that transition to gas also provides the necessary pressurization immediately before the seaming process to provide can stability and rigidity. When wineries choose to replace corks with screw caps, they add a little more headspace in the bottle that must be purged, affecting dose size. The entire liquid to gas transition and capping/seaming can take a second or less, so dosing amount and timing are critical.

  While dosing systems can become one of the most important systems in the packaging process, Fallon tells The Grapevine Magazine that nitrogen storage and auxiliary equipment are equally important to the process, and like the dosers, must be properly fitted to the needs of the end-user.

  “Storage vessels are generally available in two forms, larger bulk tanks or the smaller portable units called dewars. Bulk tanks are normally outside installations while the portable dewars are kept inside and located closer to where they are used. Both designs generally feature a double-wall construction with a vacuum space sandwiched between the two walls. That allows the tank’s outside surface to remain at the ambient temperatures while the inner space will be able to hold the proper cryogenic temperatures. To combat against any bit of temperature loss, insulated piping, using that same vacuum design, is recommended to maintain efficiency.”

Sizing Your Dosing System To Your Needs

  Chart Industries is a recognized leader in the design and manufacture of cryogenic equipment used from beginning to end in any liquid gas supply chain. Their liquid nitrogen dosing systems and cryogenic storage units are some of the most relied on throughout the wine industry.

  “Nitrogen dosing is done simply for oxygen reduction in the winemaking and bottling process,” says Tyler Jones, Product Manager of Dosing Systems for Chart Industries. “But the added benefits that come with nitrogen dosing include improved shelf life with better ability to maintain the integrity of the product as it ages. Everything ages, but not everything ages well, or properly. By dosing with nitrogen, we allow the wine to age well AND properly, staying true to the flavor profile that the winemaker came up with and intended for you to experience. Nitrogen dosing simply leads to a better product with a truer flavor. The doser is fitted in between the filler valve and cappers/corkers, delivering a single drop of measured liquid nitrogen that then expands 700x its volume during the transformation from liquid to gas. That’s enough to remove all other gases occupying that same space, effectively reducing the total package oxygen.”

  Chart Industries documented data on liquid nitrogen dosing suggests that extended shelf-life studies show a 90-95% reduction in headspace oxygen content and a 59% reduction in total package oxygen when compared to a traditional gas purge of headspace.

  Juancho Tabangay, Director of Sales – LN2 Dosing for Chart Industries, tells The Grapevine Magazine that their main focus is installing the properly sized liquid nitrogen dosing systems and storage for each customer they work with.

  “There is no one size fits all,” says Tabangay. “We can provide a vast range of storage and dosing options throughout many industries, so what is best for a particular winery ultimately depends on their specific nitrogen use and overall consumption needs. You don’t want your nitrogen supplier to have to deliver to you more than once a week, so we’ll properly size each part of the nitrogen storage, delivery and dosage system to meet that goal.”

Chart Industries is the first to provide a complete turnkey liquid nitrogen dosing system, from dosers, valves, piping, phase separators on to bulk storage options. They are the world’s leading single-source liquid nitrogen equipment and solutions provider across the whole liquid nitrogen chain from initial liquification through end-user dosing. Their equipment allows for high quality, low pressure nitrogen on demand resulting in a consistent, continuous supply of unsaturated liquid nitrogen. And while nitrogen use in winemaking is generally used for preservation, Tabangay says that nitrogen dosing is also a very efficient way to pressurize a variety of packaging, use in freezing applications like the trendy nitrogen ice cream, and to use in modified atmosphere packaging for coffees, nuts, formula, etc. And we all know how good those nitrogen dosed coffees and beers are.

  Being a complete turnkey system supplier, Chart Industries provides a full line of storage solutions based on your total consumption needs and flow requirements, providing tanks ranging from portable dewars to the largest bulk storage tanks. Their standard cryogenic tank is considered the industry workhorse, able to be customized when needed to fit any situation. They’re available in insulated horizontal or vertical configurations ranging from 524 to 264,000-gallon capacities, making them a reliable storage solution with reduced maintenance and low cost of ownership. Chart’s bulk storage tanks feature pearlite insulation or their own proprietary vacuum Composite Super Insulation system, making for a lightweight tank with high thermal performance and extended hold times while featuring reduced operational and installation costs.

When It Comes To Nitrogen Use In Wineries, Size Doesn’t Matter

  The Cave Vineyard and Distillery, located in picturesque St Genevieve, Missouri, uses the smaller, portable dewars in their winery operation. Marty Strussione, winemaker and owner, keeps four 50-pound nitrogen-filled dewars on-site at all times. Two of them are always in use and the other two are spares.

  “We use nitrogen two ways,” says Strussione. “We first use nitrogen for purging the oxygen out the bottles while they’re still empty, and then we also use it immediately before our capper to get the remaining oxygen out of the headspace before the bottle gets sealed.”

  On rare occasions, Strussione will use nitrogen to top off his tanks when needed, but that’s generally done with CO2.

  “I do think about different ways to handle the nitrogen supply, maybe something more convenient,” says Strussione. “But being a smaller winery, it’s just a matter of cost. We currently only put out about 20,000 bottles a year, so I can’t justify adding a bulk tank or onsite nitrogen generator right now. We do make use of an ozone machine, but that’s about the extent of it.”

  At the other end of the spectrum is Augusta Winery, a multiple international gold and silver award winner located in Augusta Missouri. Owner Tony Kooyumjian says, “We use nitrogen in all phases of our winemaking because each step in the process presents the opportunity to allow a certain amount of oxygenation, so the more of these opportunities that we can control, the better.”

  Kooyumjian uses nitrogen for both the bottle purging and reduction of headspace oxygen functions, but also in all of the lines to reduce the oxygenation occurring during liquid transfers. He was using so much nitrogen throughout the winery that over ten years ago he decided to purchase and install his own nitrogen generation system on-site to produce nitrogen on demand. While being costly upfront, Kooyumjian said that the system paid for itself within about three years. By doing it this way, his award-winning wines retain integrity, flavor and aroma with increased shelf life.

Post-Harvest Vineyard Maintenance: Tips to Finish the Year Off Right

Cyndi
narrow path of a wine vineyard

By: Alyssa L. Ochs

Although the busy time of harvesting grapes is winding down or has ended for many vineyards, there’s not much time to sit back and relax before more critical work must be done. Many post-harvest vineyard tasks should be on every vineyard’s to-do lists to prepare for next year’s crop and sustain the longevity of the vineyard’s operations.

The Basics of Post-Harvest Vineyard Management

  After the growing season ends and the grapes have been picked, grapevines go dormant and signal that it’s time to start preparing for next year. Some of the vital maintenance tasks to do after harvesting are removing bird netting, analyzing the soil with samples, repairing or replacing trellising and equipment, and planting a cover crop to reduce soil nutrient loss and control erosion. It is also the time of year to be proactive about pest control, consider irrigation strategy, stock up on new vines and put some thought into overall vineyard management strategy.

  As vineyards wrap up harvest operations and prepare for winter, some specialists may be helpful for advice, products and services.

•    Vineyard management companies

•    Pest control companies

•    Irrigation consultants

•    Nurseries

•    Trellising companies

•    Soil companies

Check and Repair Trellising

  Trellising is a big part of post-harvest maintenance, because, in most climates, grapevines need supports to secure the wood and summer shoots within the training system, and ensure proper ventilation and exposure.

  “Furthermore, the trellis helps to improve the implementation of viticulture work and facilitate mechanized procedures, like machine harvesting,” said Oliver Asberger, Vice President of PA Trellising Systems in Charlottesville, Virginia. “If a trellis is not designed right or maintenance is not kept up, it will lead to deficiencies in vineyard performance and higher costs in labor and parts.”

  Asberger told The Grapevine Magazine that two primary signs of a good trellis are tight wires and stable posts. “Each growing season, the trellis experiences pressure on its systems, and that leads to loosening of parts or even breakage,” he said. “To optimize the performance and keep costs down, the trellis is best fixed when the pressure is off and the vine is dormant.”

  PA Trellising Systems is a distribution company, rather than a vineyard management company, but it can offer advice on how to modify and repair existing materials if a vineyard notices a problem with its trellising system.

  “When it comes to new establishments, we guide the buyer to what options are available and optimal for post models, forms of galvanization, size and length, inside or outside hooks, set depth and use of accessories, like cross-arms or wire extenders,” Asberger said. “Also, we are able to customize our posts to offer the best solutions for a unique growing situation.”

  Another company that provides trellising products is Gripple, which offers the Gripple Plus for simple push-fit splicing, locking and tensioning system that is up to five times faster to install than traditional methods for broken trellis wires. Gripple joiners and tensioners have patented ceramic rollers that deliver a better grip and non-corrosive hold on the high tensile wires that are used in vineyards today. They can be used in conjunction with the Gripple Torq Tool or Gripple Contractor Tool to return tension to slacked or broken trellis wires quickly.

  “The Gripple Plus range is perfect for ongoing maintenance and allows for re-tensioning year after year,” said Erik Shortenhaus, Gripple’s Business Development Manager. “Gripple also provides pre-made cable bracing kits designed for the quick and easy repair of end post assemblies. Within our end post cable bracing kits, we offer a range of clips and end-fittings that are designed to quickly and securely attach to any end post material on the market, such as wood, drill pipe and channel steel. Additionally, Gripple offers a range of below-ground, percussion-style anchors that can be instantly load-locked and serve as a dead man anchor point or additional reinforcement for existing anchors. Gripple products make vineyard installation, maintenance and repairs simple and secure.”

  Shortenhaus pointed out that the growing season, crop load, weather, farming practices and harvest activities all contribute to possible wear on a vineyard’s trellis system. He said that the rigors of harvest, especially machine harvest, take a strenuous toll on a vineyard’s trellis structure, making this a prime time to check trellising.

  “Taking account of any damage that has occurred during harvest or over the year, and addressing it prior to next year’s crop, is essential to providing a solid, consistent and hassle-free foundation for your vines,” said Shortenhaus.

Check and Improve Irrigation

  Vineyard managers should remember to check their irrigation systems after harvest since machine harvesting can be rough on the vines and system. Look for physical damage, such as fallen hoses or emitters.

  Brett Curtis and James Bengtson of California’s Bennett Water Systems recommend using the post-harvest time as an “alarm clock” to handle yearly maintenance and “do an eyes-on evaluation with a full system flush and a line treatment to clean the emitters.”

  At the filter station, they recommend inspecting the sand for the sand media filter, working condition of the backwash valves and screen of the screen filter. Other recommendations are to check the pressure gauges to assess the accuracy of the pressure differential and to look for gasket leaks and other visible signs of failure.

  “Post-harvest irrigation is what lets you double-check that all of your fixes were successful before you put the system to sleep for the year,” said Curtis and Bengtson.

  Bennett Water Systems has knowledgeable key-account managers, salesmen and project managers who can perform evaluations, get to the root of the problem, and perform any fix that is required.

  “We have crews with years of experience both in installing drip systems for vineyards and performing repairs and regular maintenance,” said Curtis and Bengtson. “Whether it’s an issue with a pump, filter station or anything downstream of the filter, like pipe, tubing or emitter issues, we have a way to fix it or a solution to prevent it from causing issues in the future.”

Soil Enhancement and Maintenance

  One of the essential tasks to do post-harvest is evaluating the soil for determining nutrient and organic matter needs.

  “The vines utilize nutrients during the growing season, but not all nutrients are absorbed at the same rate,” said Coult Dennis of Superior Soil Supplements in Hanford, California. “The pH level of the soil makes a big difference in the availability of nutrients to the vines. Some nutrients are more readily available at lower pH; others are more available at higher pH. It’s important to look at the pH levels of both the soil and the irrigation water sources in order the make the best possible decisions regarding soil amendments.”

  Founded in 1983, Superior Soil Supplements dedicates themselves to building healthy soil and being California’s largest distributor of bulk agricultural soil amendments and landscape materials. It has facilities in Ivanhoe, El Nido, McFarland, Hanford and Coalinga and believes that balanced soil builds a strong foundation for crops, saving the farmer money on fertilizers and other crop inputs in the future.

  “Making sure your vines are set up for optimal growth in the spring is vital to having flourishing canes and ultimately, a strong and profitable yield,” Dennis said.

Order New Vine Stock if Needed

  After harvest is the ideal time to determine whether the vineyard will need new vine stock for the next growing season.

  “If you are looking to order vines for the spring of 2020, the best time to order vines is from August to December 2019 to ensure that varieties you want are still available,” said Ray Winter of Winterhaven Vineyard and Nursery in Janesville, Minnesota.

  Established in 2001, a year after starting a vineyard of over 14 acres and 6,000 vines, Winterhaven nursery specializes in cold-hardy wine grapes and sells many bare-root grapevines for red, white and table grape varieties. Winter said that the most important things for a vineyard to consider when ordering vines from a nursery should be whether the varietal is hardy to the growing location and if there is a market for them if the vineyard does not plan to use them in their wine.

Final Words of Advice

  In addition to these post-harvest maintenance tasks, vineyards will also want to spend time identifying and removing diseased vines, perhaps with the guidance of a local pest control company that specializes in vineyard pests. It’s also time to check vineyard equipment for routine maintenance or repair needs, as well as to identify which pieces of equipment to replace.

  Take time to reflect on the season and discuss with staff what went well and how to make improvements for the year ahead.

In closing, here are a few final words of advice from our industry experts to guide vineyards across the country through the post-harvest time of year and ensure a successful 2020 season.

For trellis maintenance, Oliver Asberger of PA Trellising Systems advises vineyards to establish a trellis that will last for the lifetime of the vineyard—approximately 25 years— and is mostly maintenance-free.

  “Too often, at the time of establishment, growers choose materials at lower costs or cut corners within the stability performance but later end up with extremely high maintenance and replacement costs,” Asberger said. “Also, in this era of less labor and more mechanization, a grower should consider if the system is set up to use technology in the future, even if the vineyard doesn’t currently own it. A later modification will be costly or not applicable at all.”

  Asberger also said that a trellis is best maintained during the dormant time because, with no canopy present, it’s easy to see loose or missing parts and replace them more cost-effectively.

“Doing this work when the canopy is present will hinder the effectiveness and most definitely will lead to damaging the shoots,” he said.

  Shortenhaus of Gripple also advises vineyards to take a visual inventory of their trellis systems and make any needed repairs or adjustments to give the vineyard a strong foundation for the next growing season.

  “Using Gripple for your trellising repair and maintenance needs couldn’t be simpler or more reliable, and it will effectively reduce your work time,” he said.

  Bennett Water Systems’ most significant piece of advice for irrigation is to remember that the system installed impacts yield directly.

  “The efficiencies of the system all play into it, such as pump efficiency, pressure losses, if supplements are going where you expect and need them and if your water is being evenly distributed throughout the whole field,” said Curtis and Bengtson. “For Bennett Water Systems, it is our goal to design and install a system with the highest distribution uniformity as possible that provides our customers with the tools that they need to produce maximum yields most sustainably.”

  Dennis of Superior Soil Supplements said that the thing his company sees most in California is a lack of organic matter in the soil. He said that organic matter should make up about 5% of soil composition and while this is difficult to achieve, adding any amount of organic matter will help. Organic matter helps retain moisture and nutrients in the soil, promotes beneficial soil flora growth to chelate nutrients, and breaks them down into a structure that can be used by the plant.

  “Compost is the least expensive and easiest way to build up organic matter,” Dennis said. “Compost can be derived from municipal green waste sources, as well as from manure and even processed sewage. Green waste is the most popular choice for vineyard applications. Like any other crop input, organic matter is depleted in the soil through the growing season and needs to be replenished.”

  Dennis recommends compost application as part of a grower’s yearly soil fertility program. “To maximize spreading efficiency, we often blend fertilizers, sulfur, limestone or dolomite with the compost, so the year’s soil needs are addressed with one pass of the spreader,” he said.

  Concerning ordering vines, Winter of Winterhaven Vineyard and Nursery said vines coming from a cold climate nursery tend to grow better than those purchased from warm climate nurseries, even though the genetics are the same.

  “We have had many customers tell us this,” Winter said. “After the fruit comes off our grapevines, we always try to do a fertilizer spray on the leaves to feed the vine and get them ready for the winter.”

Sample Your Juices & Wines

Cyndi
Wine maker with wineglass

By: Thomas J. Payette, Winemaking Consultant

Representative Sampling

While in the lab, and tasting wine at blending session etc, the winemaking team spends considerable time on getting procedures and processes correct to run each particular test on a sample of wine or juice.  Yet, equally as important, if not more, are we obtaining data and flavors that represents that particular batch or tank of wine?  Has the sample, in any way, been compromised so that it does not reflect the tank or lot of wine intended?  One would not want to take winemaking action on a wine only later to find out the action was not necessary.

  How often does a winemaker go into the cellar, select a sample of wine and then run a particular test, tasting analysis or blending trial on the sample drawn?  Are these test(s) run with confidence?  Do these numbers reflect the true tank’s contents?  Do we need to sample each individual 60 gallon barrel and spend countless hours in the laboratory?  Not necessarily unless the winemaker suspects a certain flaw to be identified with a particular vessel.  If that is the case, it is best to “quarantine” that particular lot of wine until the proper blending time making sure not to infect other batches.

  The author wants to emphasize for the purpose of this article the lab test results are correct and the lab technicians are not at fault.  The numbers reflect the sample given to the lab but the sample is not representative of the complete batch of wine in that tank.  Take the opportunity to resample a wine that shows suspicious numbers in the lab.  Remain open-minded and always quiz yourself to the possibilities of improper sampling.

  Below are some pointers to help with the scope of sampling properly

Tank Sampling

  Sample Valve: Perhaps one of the easiest situations to monitor a large quantity of wine, yet, this process must be taken seriously with particular attention to the contents.

  If taking a sample from a stainless tank understand where the sample is coming from in reference to the contents of the tank.  If a cloudy sample is taken from a sample valve near the bottom of the tank, understand it may not be cloudy throughout the whole tank and most likely very clear at the top of the tank.  Was the sample valve cleaned after it’s previous use?  Was the valve flushed of its spoiled contents to bleed off any high VA or bacterially loaded wine, prior to sampling, that may have formed in the unsealed body of that valve?  This flushing action of the sample valve, due to the positive pressure in the vessel, has little risk for cross-contamination and it is recommended in order to obtain a representative sample of the tank’s contents.

  From the top lid or manhole: Perhaps one of the best ways to sample in well managed cellars if all the tanks are kept topped up and a catwalk exist to each man way.  This gives the winemaker a chance to visually inspect the wine tank contents while taking the sample.  Caution should be expressed not to sample the surface of the wine but to get the collection flask well under the surface of the wine to collect a representative sample.  The surface of the wine may have a lower SO2 reading and false numbers other than these that do not reflect the majority of the wine.  Please keep in mind this sampling choice could be a large source of cross-contamination if not done properly because certain items may contact each wine as samples are collected.

  Ball Valves: Known to be the largest offender of panic and false a test results from the lab.  Ball valves often have high spoilage counts, if not cleaned properly, lending toward off values most particularly with Volatile Acidity and Sulfur Dioxide just to name two.  Other tests may give false reports in terms of the tank’s actual contents.  One should flush ball valves diligently when taking samples and one should be able to clean these valves well while not in use.

  Butterfly Valves: These offer an excellent source to sample a tank’s contents if a sample valve is not present.  Care should be taken to flush these valves, too.  This flushing is more to remove solids and less to remove any potentially spoiled wine.  The butterfly valve often will collect solids in them and deliver an unrepresentative sample unless flushed prior to sampling.

Barrel Sampling

  This is often the easiest yet most winemakers try and dodge this exercise making large decisions after tasting one barrel in a particular batch.  One needs to isolate the vessels of a certain lot of juice or wine.  With proper record keeping and a logical marking of each container this process is not too bad.  One may sample an equal portion from each vessel of a particular lot (recommended for blending session exercises) or fifty percent of the vessels for that lot.  Many times the winemaker can hedge this knowing a particular test or cellar action will be run in the future.  One could use the fifty percent rule, or even less, if only addressing minor actions.  Knowing the wine will be racked from barrel in 6 months may lend toward running further tests, double checking current data and making larger corrections at that time if needed.

  Stratification: If taking a sample from the very top of a tank – does the sample represent the complete wine tanks contents?  If taking a sample from near the bottom – does this represent the wine tanks content?  Should mixing be used to make the tank contents uniform?

  Mixing: It may not always be prudent to mix a tank of wine for sampling purposes.  Much of the lees and solids may have settled to the bottom of the tank and mixing the tank would only re-suspend those solids.  Certain times the winemaker may want to mix the tank prior to sampling may include: Prior to bottling, just after a racking or blending, just after and during additions and anytime a true representative sample is known to be needed for a particular winemaking decision.

  Blending Sessions: Getting prepared for a blending session is a time to make sure your samples are very representative and broken down into areas of distinction – perhaps even inside various “same” lots.  For example:  Mountain Fruit Cabernet New French Oak, Mountain fruit Cabernet Old French Oak, Mountain Fruit Cabernet New American Oak, and so on. 

  All of these samples in the example may be from the same raw material but the cooperage influence incorporated into them has made them very different.  These differences make blending sessions a joyful challenge and yet offers the best chance to have the flexibility and control needed during a blending session.  This sampling will give the blending session the greatest flexibility and control to the outcome of the final blend.  After wine samples are taken from each vessel – make sure to mix the sample so the actual sample taken will be representative of the complete number of vessels sampled and that incomplete mixing will not adversely affect the blending session’s outcome in the cellar.

  Fining trials: This is an important time to have a representative sample.  Mixing a reasonably clean wine, free of sediment, is desired to make sure this important refinement tool is employed properly prior to fining the tank’s complete contents.

  Sampling collection beakers, vessels and containers:  Make sure to take samples in clean containers free from any debris or residues.  An example may be the adverse reaction to a sample taken in a beaker that was recently used during a Sulfur Dioxide addition or used to dissolve meta-bisulfite.  If residual sulfur dioxide remains in that container, it may adversely affect the lab test results and needed additions may be overlooked.  The lab test result will show ample quantities, when in fact, the actual tank contents sample may have indicated otherwise.

Temperature Measurement and Stratification:

Outside of the sampling topic, keep in mind when looking at a thermostat on a tank, where the thermocouple is inside that tank.  If the reading is from a lower area in the tank, it may not be given a representative reading of that tank’s true temperature.  This is especially important when cold stabilizing wines.  Mix the tank prior to seeding (if seeding is the practice used for cold stabilizing) the wine.  With large capacity tanks, one may notice during mixing the temperature may rise.  Another temperature stratification check, prior to mixing, is taking a temperature reading from the top of the tank’s contents.  Notice any difference?  One will often see a difference in warm cellars with tall and large capacity tanks.

Summary / Miscellaneous

  Representative sampling applies well beyond the wine cellar.  This principal has huge applications in the vineyard when sampling the raw fruit to determine when to pick a certain variety or block.  This concept is often reflected in grape berries sampling – a potential article in itself not to be dealt with in this article.

  With above knowledge, keep in mind how the wines were sampled and how important that sampling technique may be when a particular decision is being made.  When in doubt – resample and re-run the test in question.  The winemaker is encouraged to make sure to think about the sample he or she has and to think what is actually inside the tank.  Keep a keen sense of when tasting or when chemical data from a sample does not “measure up” to what is expected.  Be sure to investigate all angles before proceeding with drastic processes toward a tank of wine.  It may just be the sample!

  The data collected, whether blending, tasting or chemical analysis in the lab, can only be as effective as the sampling.  The samples content should be directly related to the tank and it should represent as closely as possible the contents.  Always keep in the winemakers’ mind how a sample represents the tank contents while tasting, testing and blending.

Know your wine or juice sample and what it represents!

Enforcing Your Trademarks: How Far Should You Go?

Cyndi
Legal Protection word cloud concept
Legal Protection word cloud concept

By: Brian D. Kaider, Esq.

You’ve secured federal registration for your trademarks and you’ve been building your brand recognition.  Per your trademark attorney’s recommendation, you’ve had quarterly searches conducted to find similar marks.  Lo and behold, a new entry to the market is using your trademark.  Now what?  Stop and take a breath; let the initial surprise or anger settle. There is a lot to consider before taking any action.

Take Stock of the Situation

  First, take a look at your own trademark.  Is it the name of your winery or of one of your products?  Is it a national brand or one that is distributed in a small geographic area?  In what classes of goods and services is it registered (e.g., class 033 for wine, class 040 for “custom production of wine for others,” etc.)?

  Then look at the competitor’s mark.  Is the mark identical to yours or similar?  How similar?  Is it broadly distributed?  Is it used for the same goods and services as your mark?  If not, how similar are the goods and services?  Are your products marketed through the same trade channels?  Are consumers likely to encounter both your products and theirs?  Have they attempted to register their trademark and, if so, where are they in that process?

  No one question will be determinative in any given case, but on balance, they will help develop a sense of how much effort should be expended to enforce your rights.  As discussed below, there are numerous paths, each with its own set of risks and potential rewards.  An international brand that is known throughout the industry, like E. & J. Gallo, must be far more protective of its Gallo® mark than a small winery in Oregon that has a registered trademark for a rosé product only distributed in the Pacific Northwest.

First Contact

  As the owner of a registered trademark, it is your duty to “police” your mark; that is, to monitor unauthorized use of your mark by others and to enforce your right to exclusivity of that mark.  When large corporations learn of potential infringement, their immediate response is generally to have their attorneys send a cease and desist (C&D) letter.  For smaller companies, a personal attempt to contact the owner of the infringing business is often effective.  Sometimes the other party simply did not know about your mark.  If you found their use of the mark before they spent considerable time and money developing it as a brand, they may be willing to simply let it go.

  When making these calls, it is important to maintain a demeanor that is both friendly and firm.  There is no need to accuse the other side of wrong-doing or of violating your trademark knowingly.  However, you should simply let them know that you do have a registration for the mark and that their use is likely to cause confusion in the market as to the source of your respective goods.  If you give them a reasonable amount of time to work through any inventory bearing the infringing mark and to rebrand, this can often be the end of the matter.

Cease and Desist Letter

  If the friendly approach doesn’t work, the next step is generally a cease and desist letter.  This is most effective if drafted and sent by an attorney.  The tone of these letters tends to be more matter-of-fact.  They identify your trademark(s); explain that you have spent a considerable amount of time, effort, and money to build your brand around the mark; identify the other party’s infringing use; state that the use is unauthorized and likely to cause economic harm and loss of goodwill in your brand; and demand that they stop using the mark within a given time frame.

  While these letters can sometimes be effective, especially against smaller companies, they have become so commonplace that often they are simply ignored by more savvy companies who may wait to see if further steps are taken before deciding whether to rebrand.  Accordingly, you should carefully weigh all of your options and decide in advance whether you will escalate the matter if your C&D letter is ignored.

Trademark Opposition

  If the other side has attempted to register their mark, there is a narrow window of opportunity for you to challenge their application before it registers.  If, after conducting a search of other marks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) determines that the mark is registerable, it will publish the mark in the Official Gazette.  This publication opens a 30-day window for anyone who believes they will be harmed by registration of the mark to file an opposition to the application.  

  This process should not be entered into lightly.  In some cases, simply filing the opposition will be enough to get the other side to give up its mark.  But, if they choose to fight the opposition, you will find yourself in a litigious process that takes time, effort, and money to complete.  As in civil litigation, the parties to an opposition file motions and briefs, request documents from the other side, take depositions, serve interrogatories that must be answered, and present their evidence to the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board for its consideration. 

  If the opposition goes all the way to the trial stage, it will generally take at least 18 months from when the notice is filed to when the last brief is due and will cost each side in the tens of thousands of dollars.  As with civil litigation, most oppositions do not reach the trial stage, because the parties are able to come to terms and settle the dispute on their own.  But, this often does not occur until sometime in the discovery phase, after both sides have spent a considerable amount on legal fees.

  It is important to note that the object of an opposition proceeding is to prevent registration of the other side’s trademark and, if you are successful, that is your sole remedy.  There are no monetary damages awarded, nor can you recover your legal fees from the other side.  Moreover, while they will lose their ability to register their trademark, it does not necessarily mean the other side will stop using the mark on their goods or services.  In that case, you would have to file a trademark infringement litigation (see below) to get them to stop using the mark, entirely.  In practical terms, succeeding in an opposition will often be enough to get the other side to abandon their mark, because if you were to follow through with a civil litigation, they could be on the hook for treble damages for willful infringement.

Trademark Cancellation

  If you discover the other side’s trademark application after the 30-day opposition window has expired, your only option to challenge the mark at the USPTO is to wait until the trademark actually registers and then to file a trademark cancellation proceeding.  Though there are some differences between cancellation and opposition proceedings, particularly if the challenged mark has been registered for more than five years, they are similar in most procedural respects. 

Trademark Infringement Litigation

  As one might expect, filing a trademark infringement case in federal court is the nuclear option.  Depending upon the jurisdiction, the time frame for completing a litigation may be faster or slower than an opposition or cancellation proceeding at the USPTO.  But, whereas those procedures will likely cost the parties tens of thousands of dollars, a civil litigation will likely reach six figures, or more. 

  The reason for this higher cost is that there are more issues to consider in these cases.  If  your are successful in a civil litigation, you may not only obtain injunctive relief, foreclosing the defendant from all future use of the mark, but also may obtain monetary damages associated with the defendant’s past use of the mark, as well as attorney’s fees expended in the proceeding.  Moreover, if the defendant is found to have willfully infringed your trademark, they may be required to pay treble damages. 

  These issues, which are not even addressed in an opposition/cancellation, add breadth to the scope of discovery taken, which increases the cost.  Further, whereas most opposition/cancellation proceedings are decided without an oral hearing, a civil litigation generally requires live testimony and argument in front of a judge or jury.  These proceedings require a great deal of attorney preparation, dramatically increasing legal fees.

Conclusion

  As the owner of a valid trademark registration, you are obligated to police your mark and failure to do so can result in a dramatic diminishment of your rights or even outright abandonment of your registration.  But, that does not mean you have to file a civil litigation against every minor infringement.  Determining the appropriate path in any given situation requires a careful evaluation of all the circumstances and balancing the risks of action versus inaction.  It is critical to engage a knowledgeable trademark attorney, who will properly assess these risks, your likelihood of success, and the most effective course of action in your case.  

  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. 

bkaider@kaiderlaw.com or call (240) 308-8032

Dealing With Contracts

Cyndi
vineyard workers in the vines

Winery and Vineyard operations are a happy mix of old world charm with agricultural roots, where a neighbors word was as ‘good as gold’ and a handshake was an iron clad agreement, mingled into the modern world with exposures  that are more diversified and with specialized job duties, broader national reach and the increasing litigious environment.

  Contracts can be quite intimidating, confusing and even deceptive at times.

Contract ATips

  Before we get started, as with all editorial information, this should in no way be considered legal advice.  Please contact your attorney for all legal advice specific to your needs or situation.

For simplicity, we will look at two main views; contracts that you create and have others sign and the contracts that you sign as a winery/vineyard operation.

Contracts You Create

  Some of the most common agreements or contracts that a winery and vineyard operation creates can include worker contracts, processing contracts and vendors.

  Depending on the circumstance, contracts for workers need to be clear on employment relationships as an employee, subcontractor or increasingly, a co-employee through a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). 

  The winery industry has a wide breath of operations with the larger accounts that need H-2A seasonal workers contracts to the sole proprietorship where the labor is all family.  A contract should be specific on the conditions and expectations for both parties.

  In processing, there are custom crush operations that handle the complete cycle of wine production from crush to storage, down to a single task process, like using a mobile bottler.  Contracts can relate to a transportation exposures where a hired contractor is used to move the stock between locations or a storage warehouse exposure that needs to address the conditions and the insurance responsibility for the wine value.

  Consider the time element and any penalties associated if an operation under contract fails to meet expectations.

Contracts You Sign

  If you have a contract with a bottle manufacturer, cork maker, label printer, bottle filler and transportation company, do they line up with the timing and expectations to make sure your production is a success? 

  If you are responsible for the production operations, are there service contracts in place for the equipment if a part or service is needed at a crucial time in production? 

  Another common contract to the business is the Lease Agreement.  The basics are familiar to most, with renting a location to run an operation, having a monthly fee and a term agreement are very generic.  The contract can also have specifics as to the type of operations and alterations allowed.  It may be OK to make wine but not allow pressure vessels or brewery operations.  You can have the tenant improvements and betterments with installing a tasting bar, but no authority to add a kitchen space. 

  Contractors and vendors can also require a winery or vineyard to sign a contract.  Examples include a band playing on the stage, craft vendors at the harvest festival or food services.  In the best interest of the winery, the contract should address the insurance aspects of the agreement.  Each of the details in the contract should be viewed through the lens of the risk manager.  A contract should be clear and valid but remember, it is not an insurance solution.  The contract should address the specific insurance requirements needed.

  Insurance policies can also be considered a contract. Verify the language on your insurance policy protects and defends the winery.  The language should be clear to both the scope and the limit of insurance required.  In most cases, providing proof of insurance with the adequate limits is enough justification for the insurance clause.  Taking it one step further, the contract may require the signer to add the winery as an Additional Insured for events that are hosted on the insured property.

  In many cases, having a contract in force can be one of the triggers on many insurance policies that allow for an additional insured status to apply. 

  After the contract is properly executed and additional insured status is secured, the insured should verify that the limits of insurance available are at least equal to the limits under their commercial general liability policy.

  Time to ‘punch down’ and get a little more flavor.  When we switch gears and look at contracts the winery/vineyard operation is being requested to sign, paying close attention to details is paramount.  Signing a contract without understanding the consequence can have huge implications on your business.

  The nature of operations in the industry has many vendor exposures, whether as a festival booth or as a supplier to a restaurant or grocery chain.  Many of these contracts will have a requirement for limits as well as an indemnification clause that requires an additional insured status under the winery/vineyard insurance protection.  The contracts can get detailed with requesting high limits, giving up rights to subrogation of a loss or to ignore negligent acts. 

  One important point in reviewing a contract is to understand from an insurance standpoint, if you agree to a condition in a contract, is it something your insurance policy will cover?  If you sign a contract that is not supported by your insurance policy, you could be responsible for payments in the agreement that are not payable by the insurance carrier.  Failure to satisfy a contract may not be related to a covered cause of loss under the insurance language.

  As a vineyard, do you have a contract to be a supplier to a winery, in which the contract states if you fail to provide a certain volume you would owe a penalty?

  As a custom crush operation, are you under contract agreement to produce a product in a certain timeframe?  Are you contractually obligated to insure the wine stock of others at a certain settlement price?

  As a vendor in a national chain store, are you required to carry higher limits of insurance or coverage lines such as auto and worker compensation?

It may be difficult to do business today without contracts in one aspect of your operation or another.  Having the right contract in place can be a form of risk management, but can also be a source of liability on your operations.

  Not every business is the same and in fact one of the hallmarks of the industry is to celebrate the differences in both product and experience.  This creates a unique situation that should have an equally unique contract for the specific needs.  It is best practice to have professional legal counsel in drawing up any contract in lieu of the generic options.

  Ideally contracts will be written with clear and simple language that will address the relationship and expectations for the situation.

  The subject matter of contracts is complicated and often creates confusion. It is important for operations to begin considering some of the issues BEFORE a loss or conflict occurs.

  The best contract you can enter in, is a high quality insurance policy.  The insurance policy is a contract agreement that is signed by both parties.  Although it can be somewhat complex in the language, the details of the contract indicate the expectations of both parties and what is to happen if certain criteria is met, what coverages are included, what responsibilities are required for the insured and what promises of settlement are made by the carrier.  Insurance can play a major role in working with the various business contracts.

  As contract partners, it is recommended you work with your insurance agent or carrier to review any contract agreement to determine how it will affect your liabilities and to confirm if additional risk management tools may be needed.

Top 3 Tips for Contracts

  • 1. Get it in writing.
  • 2. Keep it simple in language and form.
  • 3. Seek professional advice from your insurance advisor and legal counsel.

For more information, please, contact us Markel Personal Lines or 262-548-9180.

Wine, Widgets & Website Accessibility

Cyndi
Blind person using computer with braille computer display

By: ADA Site Compliance

Like most businesses today, wineries are grappling with making their websites accessible to users with disabilities. Plaintiffs and their attorneys continue to target the wine industry and have now filed dozens of lawsuits alleging that growers, distillers, distributors, and merchants are non-compliant under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If the current litigation wave follows that of other verticals recently hit – retail apparel, hospitality, restaurants, travel, among others – the trend will likely persist until every player in the space has either revamped its existing website, built an entirely new one, or closed its doors altogether.

  So how have wineries and vineyards fared so far in facing this new risk? While the final chapter in this story has yet to be written, defendants in such suits across similar retail-based industries have found that their outcomes largely depend on the strategy they choose to adopt. There are three basic approaches. One option is to do nothing at all and hope for the best.

  A second option is to take some incremental step or steps toward improving the website. Often, this involves fixing the easy-to-find compliance failures – issues like color contrast violations and missing alterative (“alt”) text on images. The advantages here are convenience and cost; many software tools can assist with this, and for not much money. The primary disadvantage is that the results are mixed, since no technology can catch every failure. In fact, most automated tools only detect about 20-30% of the non-compliant issues. As a result, while software offers a step toward ADA compliance, it will continue to leave website owners exposed and vulnerable. And given that “copycat” suits are now the norm, your odds of escaping further litigation are low.

  The third option is for wineries to make their websites ADA compliant. The only way to do this is through human expert auditing that involves actual people going through the site manually to check for all 78 “success criteria” under the current web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1). After that, wineries can use the audit reports to remediate their sites and achieve meaningful compliance. While this option costs more, it remains the only reliable way to stop successive suits. It is also the right thing to do.

Widgets: Savior or Snake Oil?

  Many businesses – not just wineries – turn to third-party accessibility “widgets” as an apparent cure-all. These software plugins or overlays go directly on a website and claim to provide disabled visitors with an expanded set of accessibility tools to help them better navigate the site. To the uninitiated, widgets seem to be the long- sought solution: an inexpensive and easy-to-use button that makes fonts bigger, contrasts sharper, and other enhancements. Their simple integration with any website accounts for their widespread adoption.

  Unfortunately, as lots of their former advocates have found, widgets fail to make any website. In fact, there is reason to believe they make sites less compliant than before and more susceptible to litigation. The reason: the features they offer are already available to users via their browsers, their operating systems, or their assistive devices such as electronic screen readers (JAWS and NVDA are the two most popular). Most users who would benefit from a widget’s functionality already have these options available and are using them when needed. So instead of providing new ways to access information, widgets only succeed in further confusing assistive devices, which now have yet another potential barrier on the website to try to “read” and “understand.”

  Some experts have been vocal in their opposition to widgets as a quick-fix tool. Jeanne Spellman, a 19-year veteran of web accessibility, represents the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the group that creates the WCAG guidelines. When asked about the rise of widgets, Ms. Spellman referred to them as “snake oil” and noted their likelihood of exacerbating a website’s accessibility hurdles. “Installing plugins that provide text-to- speech or screen magnification,” she writes, “does not help people who are blind or low-vision, because these inferior plugins interfere with real assistive technology the blind or low-vision person already owns and uses.”

  Fair enough. But what about the benefit of widgets as a risk-mitigation tool? Is there not some advantage that website owners derive from prominently displaying this software on their site? To this, Ms. Spellman offers a definitive no: “Plugins do not help you if you are sued. Additionally, installing a custom overlay over your code … requires changing the custom overlay every time you make a change to your site. In the end, you still have an inaccessible site.” In the end, the only use Ms. Spellman sees for widgets is as a temporary patch while business owners fix their sites.

Take Action Now

  In the short term, what should wineries do in order to minimize their risk of costly litigation? Here are some steps that make for a good start:

•   Hire a true expert in website accessibility. There are many new players in the digital accessibility world, many of whom come from other businesses like web design or marketing. They may be experts in their core business, but they’re not web accessibility specialists. Don’t let them learn on your dime.

•   Post an accessibility statement. This can be simple verbiage on your site that lets visitors know you are addressing the issues. It also lists your contact info so that users can reach you if they need help navigating the site. Nearly every lawsuit filed in his space cites the lack of such a statement on the site.

•   Perform human audits. Again, technology does have some benefit for those looking to gauge their general accessibility level. But it will not make your website compliant. If true accessibility is the goal, you must have human beings auditing your website for all instances of all WCAG errors.

•   Commit to ongoing auditing and maintenance. Post-remediation, you’ll need to periodically review your site to make sure it stays compliant. Your content may change, as do laws and regulations, and so a set-it-and-forget-it strategy can land you back in court. Accessibility is a journey, not a destination. 


  Lastly, remember that website accessibility is about more than merely avoiding lawsuits; it’s about doing what is lawful and making your website accessible to all, which ultimately benefits everyone, including your winery. 


  For more information about becoming ADA compliant, please contact Gemma Petrón at ADA Site Compliance at…

(561) 258-9875; gemma@adasitecompliance.com

or find us at… https://adasitecompliance.com

Fruitful Partnerships: Family-Run Vineyards and Wineries

Cyndi
Mercer Family Estate, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington
Mercer Family Estate, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington

By: Cheryl Gray

From grapes to glass, teamwork is at the top of the list of requirements for any successful vineyard  or winery.  And what of the extras that come into play if that team happens to be family? 

  Just ask Brenda Mercer of Mercer Family Vineyards, whose family settled in the Prosser, Washington area in 1886, before Washington became a state.  Three Mercer brothers, Don, Bud and Rick, founded  the fifth-generation enterprise right in the heart of what is now the world-renowned, grape-growing Yakima Valley. 

  “They moved out to the Horse Heaven Hills after World War II to run a cattle and sheep operation, initially.  As things progressed and irrigation water became available, the Mercer (Ranches) began growing row crops such as sugar beets and potatoes.  Under the recommendation of Dr. Walter Clore, Don and Linda Mercer planted the very first wine grapes in the HHH in 1972 on what is now known today as Champoux Vineyard.” 

  Mercer adds that the family has incorporated education and technology into the variety of wine grapes they produce, spread across at least a half-dozen vineyards totaling nearly 1,000 acres.  ”There is a great deal of education and training happening in our neck of the woods in the field of agriculture and viticulture.  We are blessed to have the WSU (Washington State University) Wine Science Center in our back yard.  But even with education and outside training, a lot of knowledge is still gained by hands on experience. “

  John Derrick, Vineyard Manager for Mercer Ranches, has been with the family for three generations.  Derrick points out that the success of this family-run business has always included collaborating with educational partners who are in the region. “We are lucky enough to work with WSU, WSU Tri-Cities, Yakima Valley Community College, Walla Walla Community College and LAEP (Latino Agricultural Education Program).  We also work directly with educators and extension in the vineyard doing experiments and collaborating on new ideas and products. Working with the programs above, we have built up a great team here at Mercer Ranches. “

  Derrick adds that Mercer Ranches has recently placed emphasis on expanding its vineyard operations, providing, he says, the perfect opportunity to try new methods and ideas.  “I have always appreciated     the family’s willingness to try something new and I have seen that first hand with three generations now.  Mercer Ranches was well positioned to mechanize the vineyards because of the vision and drive  provided by Rob (Mercer).”

  Brothers Rob and Will Mercer, both of whom attended Washington State University, have been running the family business since 2010.  Rob is in charge of the farming and viticulture operations.  Will serves as General Manager at Mercer Estates.  In fact, many of the Mercer family offspring either currently work or have worked the farm and vineyards    Liz Mercer-Elliott, another WSU graduate who also trained in winemaking at Hogue Cellars, runs the company’s Carma Wine Club out of its Prosser Tasting Room.  Calvin Mercer, another WSU graduate, runs Austin Sharp Vineyard.  Still other family members have worked in many different facets of the company.

  According to Andrew Martinez, Head Winemaker of Martinez Vineyard & Winery, the Mercer family helped to bring to life his own family’s dream of operating a vineyard and winery in Yakima Valley.  Martinez says his immigrant father, Sergio, and mother, Kristy, a Washington native, bought and planted clones from Don and Linda Mercer back in 1981, planting three acres of Cabernet Sauvignon on property the Martinez family bought on Phinny Hill in the Horse Heaven Hills in 1978.  Martinez was born a year and a half after his father planted the family’s first vineyard. 

  “Helping to lay irrigation, plant grapes, sucker, prune, hoe weeds, shoot thin, and harvest are all things that were fairly normal chores in my upbringing. All the hard work that is spent in the vineyard is the reason for realizing the need to go to college for a better life.”  Martinez graduated from Yakima Valley Community College with a degree in Science and attended as many wine-making seminars and other educational outreach programs as he could.  He honed his wine-making skills four days out of the week while working as a dental hygienist part-time.  In the meantime, Martinez says that his wife, Monica,   who also grew up on a farm and whose grandfather, he says, was among the first winemakers in Prosser making wine from Washington grapes, earned her MBA.  The couple’s return on investment in education, Martinez says, has greatly benefitted the family business.  “Needless to say, wine and grape growing runs thick in our blood.  Monica’s MBA and my Science degrees have helped the vineyard and winery be elevated with tools they needed to be more successful.”

  Martinez says the family made the leap from grape growers to wine makers in 2005.   “… I talked my dad into making two barrels of wine for our first 50 cases. For years, we had sold the grapes but now, it was time to start utilizing them ourselves. It was time to show all the hard work and dedication in the vineyard to everyone!  Barrel-aging wines for 24 months, we had time to stockpile vintages and slowly increased amounts until 2007, where we started selling in a corner of a shared room at Winemakers Loft.  In 2009, the facility was sold and new owners wanted to fill actual tasting rooms. So, we were up with a hard decision. Was it time to have an actual tasting room of our own?  Being a microscopic winery, it was either sink or swim and we decided to go for it.  Thirty-eight years after the vineyard was planted, 14 years after our first two barrels of wine made, and 10 years after having the tasting room opened, we are making over 2,000 cases of wine and selling 95% of that through that same door each year.”

  Martinez says the business tasks are now split among the family members.  While he serves as Head Winemaker, Sergio Martinez is Grape Grower, Kristy Martinez is in charge of Tasting Room/Hospitality and Monica Martinez is Business Manager.

  Two Mountain Winery is a fourth generation enterprise headed by brothers Matthew and Patrick Rawn.  Located in Yakima Valley near Zillah, the Rawn brothers oversee 228 acres of wine grapes on seven vineyard sites used not only for their own wine production but also for their winery grape clients.

  Patrick Rawn, who is General Manager and Head of Vineyard Operations, says that once the brothers returned to their family’s land, they focused their interest, passion and skillset(s) on producing grapes for making wine, transforming what was once a family-owned tree fruit farm into a successful vineyard and winery.  They planted the first vineyard in 2000.  “Our production facility and a couple of our vineyards are located on the farm our grandparents started in 1950, near where our grandfather grew up farming… it is very important to us we honor our history and their legacy. “