Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVV) has created a new system with which to blend wine.
While the process of blending wine has traditionally involved numerous tools and containers, the new process is much simpler. Several small turns of a dial can now blend wine inside the barrel — a challenge that took over three years to complete.
The device in question, the Willamette Barrel Blending System, was developed as the first device in Oregon to make a straight-from-the-barrel Pinot Noir blend. It was modeled after their sister winery, Willamette Wineworks’ steampunk prototype.
The system took years of research and collaboration between Kyle Gunsul, a WVV vineyards shareholder, David Markel, former Hewlett-Packard engineer and WVV’s Director of Research and Development, and more, according to Jim Bernau, WVV’s owner.
What began as a novel idea of blending wine without exposure to yeast, bacteria, or oxygen has now turned into the system currently in place in the Orville Roth Barrel Cellar.
The process of wine blending serves a very specific purpose. It combines the characteristics of several grapes, which alone may not be pleasing, to create a complex and downright tasty glass of wine. Formerly, guests who wanted to blend their own wine would have needed a specialized siphon called a wine thief and graduated cylinders, among other things.
This old process ran the risk of compromising the remainder of barrels, as they were exposed to oxygen — a no-no in the wine business. The new blender has patentable parts, according to Bernau who is currently looking into a patented barrel blending system.
Willamette Valley Vineyards is currently constructing more winery restaurants with these systems in Lake Oswego, Vancouver, and Happy Valley.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com