Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/401644
28 NOVEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com N ew optical sorting technology allows grapes at Washington's largest wine company to be sorted with meticulous detail, but at speeds needed for volume production. Wine quality is strongly related to grape quality. Grapes are typically sorted at the receiving station by the winery to remove material other than grapes (MOG) that includes things like leaves, stems, and small or shot berries. MOG can add unwanted green bitterness or background noise to the fi nished wine. Boutique wineries handling small lots of fruit during crush often use hand labor to sort out inferior grapes and unwanted material, says Juan Muñoz-Oca, head winemaker at Columbia Crest Winery. "But there's a big difference in handling fi ve tons of grapes over the course of harvest at a small winery and handling the 15,000 tons of grapes that we crush here," he said. Crush pads and cellars at Canoe Ridge Estate Winery and Columbia Crest were recently reconfi gured with state-of-the-art destemming and sorting technology. Both wineries are owned by Washington's biggest wine company Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and located near Paterson. The new equipment was installed to elevate wine quality and better create high-end, boutique-style wines. In addition, various fermentation vessels are being used by the two wineries to give complexity and more grape expression in their high-end wines. Columbia Crest At Columbia Crest's white grape crush pad, a belt delivery system was added to the existing auger-screw conveyor system. This gives winemakers the option of using the belt conveyor to keep berries whole (with no skin contact) for wines like Pinot Gris or some maceration from the auger system for wines like Sauvignon Blanc as grapes move to the presses. New Equipment & Technology The same type of high-tech sorting equipment used by tree fruit packers is being adopted in the wine industry. by Melissa Hansen Optical sorters come to WINERIES Continued on page 30