Technological advances have been the response to solve emerging situations and problems for any industry. The grape and wine industry has not been shy to adopt such solutions. Labor scarcity and limitations have found solutions in an increased utilization of mechanization worldwide. New generation harvesters and field sorting equipment achieve ideal levels of cleanliness, saving time in the vineyard and in the winery, making winemakers re-think the concept of quality traditionally attached to hand picking. Drought threats have fueled efforts for integrating satellite, mapping, and irrigation technological improvements to maximize vineyard water use efficiency, also resulting in increased vineyard uniformity and fruit quality.

Modern filtration membrane technologies have been applied in winemaking to selectively remove alcohol, volatile acidity, 4 ethyl phenol and 4 ethyl guaiacol (Brettanomyces byproducts) and guaiacol (smoke taint). Another tool now available for wineries is the Flash Détente technology that provides a wide array of alternatives when mitigating, among others, smoke taint, vegetal characters, mold, and unripe flavors.The above aspects will be discussed in this session by specialist professionals of our grape and wine industry and will include a wine tasting to focus on the difference between new and traditional procedures.

Moderator:
Francisco Araujo, Atlas Vineyard Management, Inc., California

Speakers:
Adolfo Alarcon, Trinchero Family Estates, California
Federico Casassa, California Polytechnic State University, California
Luis Sanchez, E. & J. Gallo Winery, California 
Roland Sanchez, Walsh Vineyard Management, California