Carneros Vintners Launches Custom Crush Facility

Following some unanticipated delays, Carneros Vintners, Inc expects to be open for business and to start crushing grapes on Monday, October 7, at what is considered the largest custom crush facility in the Sonoma Carneros region.

The venture's backers have 500 or 600 tons of fruit lined up with plans to crush about 1,000 tons this harvest. The winemaker and cellar crew are ready to go.

"The facility can handle both small artisan wineries and volume-oriented value clients," winemaker David Dobson said. Dobson has previously been a winemaker for Artesa, Rutherford Hill, and Kendall Jackson. "It's all coming together very quickly," he said.

Carneros Vintners had planned to open this summer but saw delays receiving final approval on its construction from Sonoma County, as well as snags pulling together required licensing. 

The venture is a division of The Vintners Group, which operates the Lodi Vintners custom crush facility in Woodbridge, California. Founded by Dennis Rippey, the venture is owned by the Rippey family, which launched Lodi Vintners in 1991, a facility that has grown to six-million-gallons in capacity.

"We're very competitive in our pricing," Rippey said.

The business plan in Carneros includes expanding from one million gallons to three, with the flexibility for handling both larger and smaller lots. The facility has different bladder press sizes, for example, as well as two different crusher sizes, and numerous tank sizes for maximum flexibility. It features an elevated gravity flow crushpad for gentle handling of fruit while unloading trucks.

The facility is located near a quarry on Stage Gulch Road. It will provide storage for barrels, case goods and bulk wine in a 52,000 square feet of temperature-controlled warehouse space. It also has a synergistic relationship with Halsey Bottling, which is leasing one of the buildings at the facility where it is installing two high speed lines.

For more about the operation, visit www.carnerosvintners.com, call 707-933-9349, or e-mail info@carnerosvintners.com.