Loading...Hello and welcome back to ElectricTV.net. I’m your hose, Dominic Giarratano. Today, we’re talking about wine. Specifically, what happens when it goes from the vineyard to the bottle. Increasingly, the NECA-IBEW team is being called upon all across the Napa Valley to install and maintain the complex systems that make wine possible.
It seems as if everywhere you look in the Napa Valley, there’s a winery. The region is famous the world over for a few reasons, and increasingly, just one grape.
Mike Reynolds – President, Hall Winery
“It’s a combination of climate and soil. Part of it is the proximity to both the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. Throughout the Valley, we have incredible variations of soils that allow you to make great wine, specifically Cabernet Sauvignon.”
The classic profile of a good cab tends to be full-bodied, with high tannins. It’s noticeably acidic which contributes to its aging potential.
And one of the region’s best makers is Hall Wines.
Mike Reynolds – President, Hall Winery
“Each step along the way is really critical to making sure that the wine that ends up in the bottle is really expressing the very best of what came from the vineyard in which it was grown. Our winemaking facility is not dissimilar from a refinery, although with very specific artistic techniques to it.”
And just like a refinery – in which valves, pumps, seals and pipes all have to be work the right way – this facility is no different.
But, the production facility combined with the new visitors’ center here at Hall Wines truly showcases this company’s ability to perfectly blend not just its wine, but its business.
Mike Reynolds – President, Hall Winery
“What we really feel is an important part of winemaking is the experience. And with the combination of the floor-to-ceiling glass, the views out to the vineyards and the mountains, the art that’s throughout the facility, we wanted to create a place and an experience, and wines that people wouldn't forget.”
It opened for business in the spring of 2014 and is a site to behold, built by NECA contractor Napa Electric and IBEW Local 180. So sustainable is the facility that it’s been recognized as the only LEED Gold Certified winery in the state of California, not just the Napa Valley, by the US Green Building Council.
And just like a good cab has its classic profile, so too does the NECA-IBEW team.
Attention to safety, high productivity, installations that go in right the first time, and always putting the customer first.
Mike Reynolds – President, Hall Winery
“Napa Electric worked with us on both phases of this project, one in 2007-8, and one more recently. They’ve done a great job, and the most important thing when we are working with a contractor is that it gets done in a timely way, and that everything works.”
Jason Briggs – Foreman, IBEW Local 180
“I think that Napa Electric and the IBEW is a competent way of building something. There’s a lot more training involved for both Napa Electric and the IBEW.”
Brandon DeLago – Project Manager, Napa Electric
“The first phase was production. Grapes were coming in and we also had a new crush path with all new equipment. Completing that job successfully gave us a first look at the next phase of project.”
Jacob Booth – IBEW Member, Local 180
“It was a ground-up project. We did everything from PVC to MC, to pipework EMT to aluminum. We had our hands in pretty much everything, from real high-end lighting to dealing with the tanks and the TankNet and all that stuff.”
The TankNet system, as Jacob just mentioned, is perhaps the most impressive aspect of wine making here at Hall – a wireless thermostat and monitoring system that can control each tank individually and hold the fermenting wine at precise temperatures set by the wine maker. It also has a notification system if something were to go wrong out of the presets, essentially avoiding any costly inventory disasters.
Mike Reynolds – President, Hall Winery
“There’s a lot of money invested in our inventory, and we have to make sure everything works. Some of our best wines, one barrel of that wine may be worth $30,000 or $40,000. So if we have something go wrong, and you think we have 6,000 or 7,000 barrels at any one time, you can do the math in your head.”
Jacob Booth – IBEW Member, Local 180
“The property opened while we were still working here, so seeing the people that come and drink wine every day, and how into it they are, it’s pretty fascinating.”
Jason Briggs – Foreman, IBEW Local 180
“The fixtures in the tasting areas were pretty complex. Most of it is LED. They have different drivers, different ways of dimming. They have a couple of lighting control panels that control levels and scenes, and all that had to be integrated through a couple different lighting control packages.”
Brandon DeLago – Project Manager, Napa Electric
“’You’re not going to make it’ is not accepted. We’re definitely asked to do things, and we don’t have the option of saying no. We just have to figure out how to do it.”
Mike Reynolds – President, Hall Winery
“The reality is, the grapes are going to get ripe, and they have to come in, and so the facility better be ready. Meeting that schedule is of the utmost importance and everyone understands it. You need people who are able to do that and make sure it gets done, and that’s been our experience.”
That’ll do it for this edition of Electric TV. Thanks for the click. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for behind-the-scenes extras and more. From the Napa Valley, I’m Dominic Giarratano. We’ll see you next time.