Page 20 - Grapevine JanFeb 2022

In The Winery

Spoiler Alert tracking capabilities over their QR counterparts.
With the additional cost of active RFIDs, you can
When wood comes in contact with liquids, espe- have real-time location data, temperature readings
cially wine, it becomes a natural breeding ground and humidity levels.
for bacteria and spoilage mechanisms. If your wines
have pH levels above 3.7pH combined with low sul- Barcode tracking systems are an option that is
fite levels or residual sugar, lactic acid bacteria can associated with most if not all things around us.
cause spoilage and produce a sour milk taste. The familiar series of one-dimensional lines con-
structed of variable thicknesses encode numbers
Acetobacter (Acetic Acid Bacteria) causes the alco- and characters that provide the object’s unique
hol in your wine to convert to acetic acid. When identification number that links back to a database
combined with the deposits left due to poor rinsing providing all pertinent inventory, maintenance, and
of barrels or lack of or improper Sulfur purging, barrel information needed for your winery. Barcode
Acetic acid forms ethyl acetate, the ingredient used labels are economical and easy to read with
in nail polish remover. It frequently happens with handheld devices or available smartphone apps.
wines that oxidize and have headspace, producing However, the location of the barcode label is criti-
the familiar vinegar aroma. cal to correct readability because the barcode label
must be within the sight and allowable parameters
Brettanomyces Yeasts in your barrels mean of the reader.
spoilage. They metabolize very low sugar levels
in wine or the cellulose sugars in the wood due Quick Response (QR) Codes are the pixelated
to insufficient Sulfur purging of stored barrels or squares scanned from a smartphone camera to
the inadequate presence of sulfites in the barrel. send you to another location or web link. They
Brettanomyces Yeasts produce an aroma reminis- can be combined with GPS functionality for barrel
cent of a well-stocked medicine cabinet. tracking and store up to a hundred times more
information than the basic barcode. If needed,
Penicillium mold is one of the most common con- once a barrel is assigned to the database, the wine-
cerns for winemakers, usually originating through maker can add more specific barrel information.
stave or head joints or around the bunghole. Hard Unfortunately, paper-printed QR codes are sus-
to eradicate once it gains a foothold, penicillium ceptible to humid conditions and durability issues.
mold causes foul aromas when in contact with the More durable options increase cost, and if Wi-Fi is
wine. needed, that can be an issue in wine cellars.

Keep Track and Maintain InnoVint Inc, founded in 2013, is a bud break-to-
Consistent Barrel Information bottle wine production software company made
up of winemakers. Their wine production software
When maintaining and storing your barrels, a optimizes QR codes for wine barrels that are easily
system for keeping track and maintenance sched- scanned on a phone or tablet and allow details on
ules can be quite helpful, and a winemaker should contents, activity, barrel history, and more to be
choose a system based on their specific needs and entered. Their QR codes scan well in dirty, wet, or
budget limitations. Limited budgets can make prac- humid conditions and stay with the same vessel
tical use of barcode-based barrel tracking systems for its lifespan while in your cellar, making histor-
that provide inventory and location data for their ical information accessible and easy to retrieve.
in-house barrels. If you need more information, like This information can include things like fill dates
maintenance schedules, barrel history, or tracking or Brix readings for your fermentation tanks. Using
information, you may need the benefits of Quick InnoVint’s software, the QR codes can be printed or
Response (QR) or Radio Frequency Identification reprinted on demand.
(RFID) code technology. Economic factors can lead
you to use QR codes for increased data storage Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) uses radio
with easy read capabilities. However, RFID is a waves to track objects and their unique data. You
great choice when considering pure efficiency, with won’t need a direct line of sight for this type of
passive RFID providing more data storage, faster tracking, and it scans faster than pointing at a bar-
scanning, and additional location and temperature code or label. Using Active RFID brings the ability to

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