Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40615
EDITOR'S DESK Taking Advantage of TechTools I always look forward to attend- ing the annual Wine Industry Tech- nology Symposium – or WITS – in Napa. It's interesting and inspiring to learn about the innovative tools that wineries are using to further their success in the vineyard, the cellar and the marketplace. For example, Lisa Mattson of Jordan Vineyard and Winery told attendees how the winery's sales reps are making use of their com- pany-issued iPad tablets. Rather than lugging laptops to meetings with wine buyers, they simply bring their iPads – a welcome weight reduction when you're also toting multiple bottles of wine. This allows them to instantly access tech sheets, POS materials, reviews and company videos – and even to arrange face-to-face video chats with company principals. Yes, the tablets are expensive at $500 and up, but winery president John Jordan – the man leading the tech-focused charge at the win- ery – believes that the increase in productivity justifies the expense. No more time is wasted waiting for laptops to boot up or trying to find offsite WIFI connections (at least for the 3G-equipped iPads). Wine buyers have less time to spare than ever, and the iPad helps Jor- dan's sales team members make the most of every minute they're allotted with potential clients. As Mattson said, "A Dell laptop with Powerpoint doesn't cut it anymore for presentations," because it just doesn't move fast enough. Tablet technology also has appli- cations for the cellar, as you'll see in our story, "Tank Control and Monitoring Software," on page 28. With TankNET and VinWizard sys- tems, winemakers can remotely monitor fermentations and make adjustments via iPad, from wherev- 10 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT SEPT - OCT 2011 er they happen to be. Jordan is one of many wineries that have adopted this technology. And if you take your iPad into the vineyard, you can access region- specific information and videos posted by viticulture experts across the country on the expanded eViti- culture web portal (www.eviticul- ture.org), featured in the article by Ted Rieger on page 52. Cool tech tools go way beyond the tablet format, of course. Opti- cal grape sorters, like the ones detailed in Deborah Parker Wong's story on page 48, determine the quality of each destemmed berry as it passes under a video camera on the machine's conveyor belt. Those deemed to be unworthy according to the computer model are ejected by air jets, while the "keepers" move on to their next destination. How cool is that? Along with helping vintners and growers enhance quality, tech- nology can also improve energy efficiency. Our cover story on Som- erston Wine Co. (page 36) details the facility's groundbreaking, high- performance CO2 heating and cool- ing system – the first of its kind for a winery. Did I mention that this is our "Technology Issue"? And on that note, be sure to check out the new Digital Edition of this issue on the V&WM web- site (www.vwm-online.com). It's also available for viewing on – you guessed it – the iPad. Salute! Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwm-online.com. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM