It's common practice to only sample a few barrels and extend those results across a large barrel group due to technical and resource limitations. This assumption works well in predictable mass-manufacturing settings but doesn’t hold for the unique challenges of barrel aging of fine wines.
Inspired and challenged by nature, making wines is full of unknowns and surprises. The grapes, the oak, the microbial activities — all lead to a degree of variability yet to be sufficiently understood.
The FS1 enables sampling more barrels (significantly) without scaling either lab or cellar teams. The result? More lab-equivalent data for a better insights into the wine health during barrel aging.
The unstable characteristic of SO₂ causes the measurements quickly become irrelevant after a short period. Microbes also don't rest, making the decisions to add SO₂ to at-risk barrels become time critical.
BarrelWise has built the FS1 system to simplify the entire workflow to less than 80 seconds, from opening barrels to data on the cloud for winemakers. Long wait time is no longer a barrier to effective intervention.
The cross-functional collaboration, manual work, and specialized lab procedures (especially for the widely used AO method) open lots of room for errors in conventional testing methods.
With a fully automated process, the FS1 eliminates these chances for errors. Wineries can channel the energy to get creative on improving quality control instead of maintaining a labor-intensive workflow.
Workflow defines processes and team interactions to get the job done. It can be either a major contributor or a silent killer of profitability and wine quality. With BarrelWise FS1,
Blog: Understand workflows from different test methodsHere are a few things our customers have used the FS1 for.
Increased process transparency has enabled our customers to minimize the risk of potential problems that lead to barrel downgrades.
A well-designed process of checking free SO₂ after additions ensures the additions hit the desired target, and catch any errors of double or missing additions.
Close monitoring of barrels at an individual level reduces risk in these premium lots, maximizing the return on the extra investment in top-quality fruit and barrels. More protection where it matters.
More samples tested means higher chance to catch abnormal barrels that need investigation and intervention. This potentially gives winemakers the chance to prevent unnecessary and expensive barrel downgrades.
All measurements are instantly available in a cloud database to everyone - cellar crews, winemakers, and BarrelWise technical support team. This means all activities and decisions will happen based on reliable data at any given time.
BarrelWise has made customer support an integral part of our product offering, including real-time monitoring, a proactive approach, and a responsive team. Wineries can be sure to have a smooth experience, getting our help quickly when needed, and even before they know it.
Read more: Customer Support (PDF)BarrelWise FS1 is helping Rodney Strong Wine Estates to streamline routine workflows in the cellar. This technology enables us to conduct barrel-by-barrel analysis, which helps to maximize the quality of our wine.
OLIVIA WRIGHT - WINEMAKER
The FS1 empowers my team in the cellar to work efficiently without waiting for lab results, while also providing improved quality controls.
MANUEL ROSAS - BARREL MASTER
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