Before Collecting Grapes, Winemakers Are Collecting Data

If you go to Napa Valley’s Vineyard 29 and walk around the crops, the grapes almost look like they’re in bandages. But the bandage is actually a water-measuring device that sends the results to a computer. The data helps take the guesswork out of assessing whether the grapes are healthy. It makes the wine better and helps produce stronger vintages.

Winemakers are collecting as much data as they can to help create better production. The processes include drones flying in the sky to measure reflectance rates and software to measure the control tanks connected to those water-measuring bandages.

No man’s land

Inside the Palmaz winery, which reportedly cost $20 million to build, work is happening, but no one is there.

The winery designed its own software program and app to alert workers about what’s happening, even when they’re not on site. Sometimes the software can even tend to the grapes without the workers’ direction. For example, if a batch of fermenting grapes gets too hot, the software automatically kicks in to cool down the stainless steel barrel.

Read more on Dimensional Insight’s blog.