860 Napa Valley Corporate Way Suite C, Napa, CA, United States of America, 94558

http://www.bouchardcooperages.com

(707) 257-3582

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Why Pisoni Chooses Armbruster Rotovib for Unprecedented Grape Processing Quality

Situation:

Winemakers producing premium wines know that wine quality is dependent upon the efficient removal of fruit from the vine and preparing the berries for destemming, a critical process requiring high-end, sophisticated, and reliable grape handling equipment.

Jeff Pisoni, Winemaker at Pisoni Vineyards, had been looking to upgrade their previous destemmer for quite some time. “There was a lack of innovation in destemmers for a while,” comments Pisoni. “Purchasing new processing equipment is a big investment and long-term commitment, so we were waiting for the next generation of destemmers to come to market since destemming and sorting is such a critical part of the winemaking process.”

When new destemmers did start to become available, it was clear they all had the common goal of giving wineries a very clean destemming process with as little MOG (material other than grapes) as possible. However, only the Armbruster Rotovib Destemmer delivered a few key critical advantages for premium, whole berry destemming.

Solution:Rototvib Destemmer with Double Rollersorter

Armbruster, a German family-owned manufacturer of winery equipment for more than a century, developed the Armbruster Rotovib Destemmer with a Double Rollersorter to deliver an astonishingly gentle destemming process that’s become a game changer for wine producers around the globe. With the help of Scott Laboratories, the Rotovib with Double Rollersorter hit the North American wine market in 2017 and Pisoni became an early adopter, purchasing their first Rotovib for the winery shortly thereafter in 2018.

“About fifteen years ago, Armbruster came up with a new generation of machines to destem more gently by attaching a vibration motor onto a pin shaft, which allowed the shaft to slow down and not beat up the fruit as it went through the destemmer,” explains Ira Cohen, Scott Labs' Equipment Sales Manager. “This was the first iteration of the Rotovib, and the result was a twenty to fifty percent increase in whole berries, which really caught the interest of premium Pinot Noir producers, especially in Sonoma County.”

Cohen notes that the latest version of the Rotovib with a Double Rollersorter consists of two separate beds of interlacing rubber spools that rotate on adjustable shafts. Grapes fall through the spaces on the first bed, while jacks, stems and other debris get carried away to a discharge chute. The second rollersorter bed has tighter spacing to remove any remaining raisins, shot berries or small particles.

Pinot Noir grapes after going through the Rotovib

Results:

After purchasing the first Rotovib for the winery, Pisoni noticed a clear difference in the quality of wines—in sensory of aromatic and tannin properties—before and after using the destemmer, as compared to previous vintages.

The Rotovib’s key advantages include:

  • A reduced footprint—setup and installation can be customized based on each winery’s production facility to save space
  • Cost savings—additional sorting equipment or personnel are not needed to do berry sorting thanks to the Double Rollersorter
  • Less noise—the German engineering behind the Rotovib provides quiet machine operations
  • Ultra-clean fruit—the Rotovib with Double Rollersorter provides the gentlest handling of fruit with minimal amounts of stems and seeds, leaving whole berries intact

Jeff Pisoni at Pisoni Vineyards

Pisoni recently bought a second Armbruster Rotovib with a Double Rollersorter for Gravity Wine House, their custom crush business.

“It’s a very flexible piece of equipment,” Pisoni enthuses. “The Rotovib is great with Pinot Noir, and because it works superbly with other varietals, we purchased the same thing for our custom crush facility. Cabernet producers love it since the Double Rollersorter can essentially act like a berry sorter, which is a common part of the grape handling process with high-end cabs.”

The innovation behind the Rotovib’s unique vibrating technology has resulted in over 350 installations of the destemmer throughout North America. With expert technical support and service from Scott Labs’ senior technicians, wineries can also receive technical training, hands-on support, and service before, during and after harvest to ensure optimal efficiency and minimal downtime.

For more information and orders, go to https://shop.scottlab.com/armbruster-crush-equipment.


destemmer double rollersorter armbruster rotovib

About

Supplier of premium French, Hungarian, Austrian and American oak barrels, casks and tanks from: Billon, Damy, Maury, Schneckenleitner, European Coopers Hungary and Master Coopers. Exclusive access to Canadell French Oak Alternatives. Italian concrete tanks from CLC Vasche, jarres from Vin et Terre, Opuses from Drunk Turtle, amphora from Artenova and stainless steel eggs from Egginox.

The Company Story:

Vincent Bouchard founded Bouchard Cooperages in 1979 on one basic principle:  to give Winemakers access to the finest custom-fabricated French oak barrels - in time for harvest and at minimal expense - year after year. 

Since then, there have been a lot of changes in the barrel business, and Bouchard Cooperages has been at the forefront of much of the innovation (studies on toast levels, forest origin, and the geography of stave aging, as well as the introduction of the silicone bung and the shrink-wrapping of barrels).  In 2009, we began experimenting on the true effect of atmospheric conditions on stave aging.  Our goal is to determine precisely when staves are ready for barrel fabrication, depending on specific geographic and climatic factors (a 3-year aged stave may not be ready if there was a drought for 2 of those 3 years).  Last year we also introduced the "electronic signature," effectively allowing our Winemakers to approve orders from their laptops or smart phones.  And this year, all of our Coopers began emailing their invoices in an effort to not only save paper, but to save our Customers time and money with accounts payable processing.

Through all of these changes, our core principle remains the same.  We pride ourselves in developing long-term relationships with both our Winemakers and our Coopers.  We believe it is only through this on-going collaboration that we can help Winemakers to consistently realize their winemaking passion.

Simply said, we are forever committed to helping our Coopers craft a better barrel, and to helping our Winemakers craft a better wine.  Our team of Sales Consultants pride themselves on meeting with Winemakers, tasting through their wines, and helping them find the best match for a particular varietal, terroir, and individual winemaking style.

With over 30 years of experience and a global presence, we are also experts in logistics – from container consolidation to exchange rate fluctuation risk management - firmly committed to unparalleled customer service. 

Contact

Contact List

Title Name Email Phone Extension
Founder, General Manager Vincent Bouchard offices@bouchardcooperages.com 707-257-3582
International Barrel Consultant Carrie Tides carrie@bouchardcooperages.com 707-695-8222
Oregon & New Zealand Sales Manager Roberta Manell-Montero rmm@bouchardcooperages.com 503-724-2744
International Oak Alternatives Consultant Sarah Lanzen sarah@bouchardcooperages.com 707-592-9961
Eastern Canada Barrel Consultant Mary Delaney mabourgogne@sympatico.ca 905-932-3942
Accounting Director Kris Conemac kris@bouchardcooperages.com 707-256-2812
International Logistics Rachel Bobbs rachel@bouchardcooperages.com 707-256-2813
Australia National Sales Representative and Intern Amber Glastonbury amber@bouchardcooperages.com
General Sales Paolo Bouchard paolo@bouchardcooperages.com 707-287-0727

Location List

Locations Address State Country Zip Code
Bouchard Cooperages 860 Napa Valley Corporate Way Suite C, Napa CA United States of America 94558

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