Winery control technology originating from VinWizard in New Zealand is currently installed at 160 wineries worldwide. It has now been recognised by industry leaders in the
United States of America for innovation at the prestigious Innovation + Quality Napa Valley forum.
The INNOVATION + QUALITY event is an annual forum for ultra-premium wineries focused on cutting-edge innovations that
advance wine quality. Each year products are hand selected by the INNOVATION + QUALITY Advisory Board and Wine Business
Monthly team solely on criteria of innovation that lends itself to high-quality, ultra-premium winemaking. This year VinWizard Managing Director David Gill received the INNOVATION + QUALITY 2018 award for the company’s Multi-Level-Probe with American distribution partner Tom Beard Company in attendance.
“Every winery tank has different points of ferment activity depending on refrigeration effectiveness and tank design”,
says Mr Gill. “Pump-overs, which mix the ferment, and provide much needed oxygen, also affect temperature throughout the
tank. The problem is, frequency and duration of pump-overs are often based on assumptions”.
VinWizard’s Multi-Level-Probe can have 5 to 30 sensors linked in a chain from the top to bottom of the tank. The software displays a vertical thermal
bar on-screen and graphs each sensor level over the life of the ferment.
Winemakers can dynamically see the effects of pump-overs on the entire tank. They can select which sensor will be the
control point or control by average temperature, cap temperature or high/low point. Pump-overs can be automatically
started when stratification reaches predetermined trigger points. “This last point helps lower production costs as
energy stored in cold sections of the tank lower the overall temperature through mixing”, Mr Gill says.
Mr Gill heads VinWizard’s global research and development initiatives and says: “it is imperative the company continues to push the boundaries.
There is incredible potential to lower the cost of wine production and help maximise the potential of the fruit through
new technology. Our range of initiatives has delivered reductions in power usage by up to 40% while helping winemakers
understand more about their ferments”.
VinWizard has further developments in the pipeline.
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VinWizard Initiatives