How Silicon Valley Has Transformed The Wine Industry

SANTA CLARA, CA, December 05, 2012 (Press-News.org) Silicon Valley and the greater San Francisco Bay area have long had a reputation for being both the center of high tech innovation and a hub of viticultural refinement. Now, these two seemingly disparate worlds are beginning to intertwine. The innovative spirit of Silicon Valley is turning its attention on the age-old traditions surrounding wine, creating big changes in the ways wine is made, marketed, and sold.

Wine Service Innovation
Wine preservation and sales are undergoing a transformation thanks in part to technology emanating from the heart of Silicon Valley. Napa Technology, a designer and manufacturer of the WineStation intelligent wine preservation and dispensing systems, recently unveiled its newest evolution: the WineStation 3.0. NapaTechology's WineStation uses argon gas in a stationary, temperature controlled dispensing unit that allows fine wines to be uncorked and preserved for up to 60 days without spoiling, creating an opportunity for restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues to serve more expensive, finer wines by the glass. Wine preservation systems have created a world in which diners no longer have to settle for mediocre house wines by the glass. The WineStation precisely measures how much wine is dispensed, minimizing loss and maximizing profits for operators providing a much needed solution to the rising demand for better wines by the glass. The WineStation is also showing up in supermarket aisles, giving shoppers a chance to try before they buy and grocers an opportunity to increase sales. The WineStation 3.0, available in January of 2013, will offer hotel room key integration, allowing guests to serve themselves from anywhere on property using their hotel room key creating a more seamless experience within hotel properties.

Apple's iPad is another facet of technological innovation that has begun to creep into the world of wine service. Several top restaurants in the Bay Area, including Barbacco in San Francisco's Financial District, have begun to list their wines on iPads placed at every table. Using iPads instead of traditional paper wine lists allows restaurants to save time and money on designing and printing new menus. Flemings Prime Steakhouse has also created a wine list using iPad. The interactive nature of the device allows for extensive tasting notes, pairing suggestions and deeper insights about the wine, ultimately creating a richer experience for diners, and a better sales opportunity for the restaurant.

Transformative Wine Growing
Tech titan T. J. Rodgers, who made a fortune at Cypress Semiconductor, has set his sights on transforming the time-honored way in which wine is made. His new fermenters automatically regulate temperature and measure sugar content, a process that is traditionally done by hand in a time-consuming process. His highly efficient fermenters, which wirelessly send data to a central computer, are currently being tested at U. C. Davis. Wines made by his new method can already be purchased from his own Silicon Valley winery, aptly named Clos de la Tech.

Technology Informs Wine Marketing
Technology is also influencing the way wine brands are marketed. Former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's new Odette Estate in Napa County used technological advancements to achieve LEED certification for all structures on the property, a distinction that lends cachet to the Odette Estate brand in tech circles. A few years back, Parducci Winery in Mendocino County captured media attention when it started touting the fact that it was the first winery in the country to become completely carbon-neutral by using technological advancements like wind and solar to power its winemaking operations.

Mobile applications like Velvet Fine Wine Companion and Drync are having an impact on the ways consumers discover and keep track of their favorite wines. Applications that share reviews, create personal wine journals, and keep track of wine cellar inventory are making a big splash in the otherwise analog world of wine.

Napa Technology has also improved the marketing capabilities for restaurant, retail and hospitality operators by creating an integrated system for tracking inventory and consumption patterns. The WineStation AccuServe Smartcard technology can track and manage not just wine inventories and total sales to drive operational efficiencies, but can also track what individual guests consume so that operators can market to them based on individual preferences.

Tradition and innovation are not usually seen as compatible but when it comes to wine and high tech, the formation of a new symbiotic relationship has transformed both the old and the new.

About Napa Technology
Napa Technology, LLC is a designer and manufacturer of Intelligent Dispensing Solutions for wine that ensures optimum freshness with each pour. The company's breakthrough product, WineStation, is designed to drive revenues and maximize the profitability of each bottle. WineStation has been adopted by hospitality, entertainment and foodservice industries as a new way to serve, preserve and capitalize on the value of available customer preference data.

For additional information on WineStation and Napa Technology visit www.napatechnology.com.