The ability to make decisions based on real data, using the latest technology, is important to the modern wine operation. This is why Allan Delmare of renowned Rappahannock Cellars in Virginia selected Process2Wine as their management system. “We have been using different winery management systems for the last two decades. Finding the right software has been a journey of trial-and-error, but then we found Wine Management Systems, now Process2Wine, for our production management in May 2015.” One of the family owners of Rappahannock Cellars (and chief distiller), Delmare has been moving his family’s business towards technology-based and data-driven decisions for winery production, and now for their vineyards as well.
Presenting not only a complete production system for winemaking and wine storage, Process2Wine offers a unique component that their competitors do not: complete (and mobile!) vineyard management. Exclusively designed for technology-driven vineyard management, decisions are made easier through real-time and actionable information.
“We needed to get our production management up to snuff. They [Process2Wine] approached us about the vineyard modules, and I was excited. They did an online, shared screen demo, then came and did an actual onsite visit,” says Delmare about choosing the Process2Wine system. Rappahannock Cellars purchased the vineyard modules right away and have been implementing them over the past year. Costing the same as his previous software, but providing a whole new scope of pertinent data, Delmare says adding the vineyard modules was a “no brainer”. “We have new capabilities and look forward to putting the rest of the modules into motion.”
Using their vineyard management app, you can open your smartphone, plan and manage visits to record phenology and viticulture metrics saving you a lot of time on data entry with our Cloud technology. While visiting your vineyard, you can drop a location pin where you see a missing vine or a broken post, and share and send in a work order for it to be replaced or repaired. Have a specific need for each block? Draw a perimeter around a specific area of vineyard that needs spraying or mowing, and your foreman can send out a crew to target that area, based on the precise specifications (mow height, chemical mix, location target) that were entered. Going back to the office you will be able to run a report to follow and predict maturity, crop, and yield estimation.
Rappahannock Cellars is inputting their vineyard data for increased productivity, and also using it to interface with and improve their wine production side. They use the satellite overheads of each vineyard, and by electronically tracking a particular block, on a certain harvest date, they create traceability on the winemaking side as well. Whether for block designations, blending purposes, or tracking appellation origin for compliance, Delmare feels that just having that unique capability improved the understanding on the wine production side.
Producing 15,000 cases per year, and with thirty acres under vine, their family vineyard is managed using Process2Wine. As a bonus, they now have a new vineyard manager who is very enthusiastic about this product. He is dedicated to using the modules he’d learned about in a demo of the Process2Wine vineyard components at another vineyard. He couldn’t be happier about the implementation.
“THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT TOOL IN DATA ANALYTICS. WE CAN TRACK WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS SHOULD BE AND CAN BE OVER TIME”
Rappahannock Cellars also is planning on implementing this vineyard management on another 30 acres, which they remotely manage within a co-op structure. “It’s a 20-year contract, and we get our same vineyard allotment each year. We need to be able to track and identify what are we going to get out of this particular block every year,” notes Delmare. “This is a significant tool in data analytics. We can track what our expectations should be and can be over time, especially for a 20-year deal!”
On the winery production side, Rappahannock Cellars has been using all of the Process2Wine modules for the past five years. Says Delmare, “They are doing a good job to develop new things and are very responsive.” COO of Process2Wine, Patrick Oates, says that they are looking to help Delmare with his distillery by tweaking some of their operations management components currently used in the winery.
Rappahannock Cellars also runs Dida’s Distillery, and has been able, through GoFundMe donations, to produce hand sanitizer to donate to local organizations in need. “It was my dad’s idea,” says Delmare. “Hospitals were calling us asking for help.” They started making a small batch for donation, and then received $30K in donations. They have been able to donate hand sanitizer to over 100+ locations, including EMS/First Responders, Healthcare, and Public and Community Services.
Process2Wine is pleased to be partnering with trend-setters Rappahannock Cellars, and other forward-thinking wineries across the United States. With affordable pricing, this technology provides cutting-edge possibilities for the new wave of technology-driven vineyard decision making.
