Page 11 - Grapevine March-April 2020

In The Winery

the vineyard and expected fruit or juices for the you can specify quality. Treat cooperage the same
harvest seven or eight months in advance. Plan, way. Talk to your barrel supplier(s) and express an
order and negotiate any cooperage or tanks space (“optimistic”) order should agricultural expectations
adjustments early on to fit upcoming predicted pro- go as planned. Most barrel suppliers will work with
duction. you to be flexible (within reason) to help you plan
your tank capacity and this helps them plan their
Plan tank capacity: With initial vineyard tonnage production work load.
projections in hand start to forecast empty tank
capacity and cooperage. Plug into this projection Make a bottling schedule: Make sure to plan
tanks you expect to have bottled by harvest. Is exactly what you need to bottle to integrate prop-
there enough predicted empty tank capacity avail- erly with the sales goals and to empty the amount
able to allow all the fruit projected to fit into the of tank space needed. This will need to be coor-
cellar? Is there an overrun plan? Would large dinated with the warehouse personnel and taking
tanker trailers be available if needed for excesses? into consideration warehouse space. Stick with
Think through as many options as possible. If you the bottling schedule since it is integral to your
calculate you need more volume capacity– get that projected bulk wine volume tank space require-
on order. ments needs. Speak with sales to understand their
expected sales rates and understand if any varietals
Place orders for tanks and cooperage: Take will be placed on “special” accelerating predicted
time near January of each year to place orders for sales rates.
stainless steel tanks and barrels. In many cases for
stainless steel you can order custom made tanks Visit the machinery in the winter months: Start
for the same price as stock. This way – you get reviewing worn out belts, replace and repack bear-
exactly the features you want in your tank and ings that are showing wear. Motors; bearings;

Pre-Harvest Planning

Make Every
By: Tom Payette, Winemaking Consultant

Grape Count!

Enhance Red Wine Extraction Process
with Pulsair System’s

• Cap Managament

• Wine Blending

Solutions for all sizes of wineries

800 582-7797 www.wine.pulsair.com

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