May 4th, 2021 – New Zealand based Wine Technology Marlborough, the developer of industry leading winery automation technology, VinWizard, announced its sale today to Sonoma County based Wine Technology Inc.
Production automation system, VinWizard, which is comprised of both software and hardware developed in-house over the past 25 years, provides unparalleled insight and control over the beverage production environment. Enabling winemakers, beermakers, and beverage producers alike, the technology has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to save time, energy, water, labor, and money across five continents. Some of VinWizard’s highlight international customers include Australia’s [yellow tail], New Zealand’s Kim Crawford, and Chile’s Concha y Toro, which are accompanied by California luxury stalwarts Staglin Family Vineyards, Quintessa, and Arkenstone.
“The technology is unrivaled from a capability, cost, and ease of use standpoint,” comments new Co-Owner Kelly Graves who, along with longtime VinWizard veteran Bob Richards, will continue to commercialize and expand VinWizard’s global footprint. Per Mr. Graves “VinWizard was one of the first technologies I ever evaluated in my prior career where I was tasked with finding technologies capable of making a big difference in how wine is made. It is fortuitous I now have the opportunity to expand the adoption of VinWizard across an industry I’ve worked in my entire career.”
Going forward, VinWizard will hold dual citizenship in New Zealand and the United States, as the core operations will remain in its existing Renwick facility while administerial activities will be managed out of Sonoma County. “Core to our ongoing business model is to maintain and grow our presence in the New Zealand and Australian market, as this is where it all began,” remarks Bob Richards, “… we’ve established a loyal customer base and we will remain heavily invested in local markets.” Technology creator, David Gill, will be staying on to support customers as well as advance new VinWizard technologies, specifically their RedOx, level detection, and Brix probes. Bolstering activities in the United States will be the addition of a new VP of Operations, to be named in the coming weeks. The VP of Operations will be responsible for driving commercial growth and ongoing technology development while providing key support to customers and continuing the build out of the US support infrastructure.
“With rising labor and energy costs as well as recurring droughts along the West Coast of the United States, automating through VinWizard can significantly improve a winery’s resiliency and knowledge of its consumption,” comments the new CEO, “We want to maximize the efficiency of existing production assets while combining data from multiple sources to provide an encompassing automation platform.” To this end, VinWizard’s flexibility allows integration with existing technologies like winery management platforms Vintrace and InnoVint or processing equipment providers like Pulsair or Della Toffola among others.” Co-Owner Bob Richard’s comments, “With plug-and-play capability, VinWizard will continue to forge partnerships with complimentary technology providers with the aim of growing together. Be it connecting to chillers, compressors, automated pump-over set-ups, or accounting software, VinWizard is extremely flexible and is intended to integrate, display, and control all critical aspects of a winery’s production environment.”
Wine Technology Inc.’s immediate task is letting producers know they can actually afford automation and spreading the word about VinWizard’s non-CAPEX subscription payment model. “We want to let wineries of all sizes know we have a great solution and are capable of creating partnerships without requiring large cash payments,” says VinWizard’s CEO, “Once the broader market is exposed to our capabilities, we are confident VinWizard will become the go-to solution for all things automation related.” Further information and customer testimonials as well as contact details can be found on the company’s website, www.vinwizard.com
