A renowned quality-driven winery in California designated $85 per acre to sample
grapes over the course of the season, supporting their attempt to better control
quality and yield for their premium wine programs.
The declining sales of the winery’s premium wine programs could no longer justify
the costly investment in the vineyard.
The client was interested in significantly lowering their viticulture operation costs,
while still maintaining the same level of control and precision in tracking the vineyards’
development.
Solution
The client joined the Trellis platform and integrated 330 of their high-quality blocks
in three different California appellations.
Utilizing the Trellis AI-powered Ripening Models that predict the current and
projected ripening status on the block-level based on climate conditions, the client
observed phenology, sugar and acidity predictions for each of their blocks, updating
in real-time throughout the season.
Result
In general, the 2018 vintage ripened at a slow and steady pace, nearly a month
longer than in 2017. In previous years this would have required much more intensive
and extensive sampling, increasing the viticulture operation cost per acre by 20%.
However, the Trellis platform enabled the winery to confidently minimize vineyard
sampling by more than 30% saving them more than $85,000 in viticulture costs.