Dayton, Ore. -- Northwest wineries are aiming for cleaner sorts of their incoming fruit this year, with sophisticated equipment designed to weed out material other than grapes (MOG), from greenery to grubs.

While its grapes typically arrive at the winery in good shape, relatively free from material thanks to careful hand harvesting, 15,000-case Domaine Serene in Dayton, Ore., employs a “bug sucker” to remove lighter material that might otherwise cling to grapes prior to crush.

Winemaker Eleni Papadakis said the vacuum was incorporated as part of Domaine Serene’s current facility when it was built in 2001. The past nine years have shown its worth, with earwigs and dry leaves among the debris the light suction pulls from the fruit as it move salong the line to the sorting table.

“It seems to work well,” she told Wines & Vines. “It’s handy for being a first line of defence, so our sorting line staff already have a lot of stuff moved out of the way for them.” A shaker levels the grapes out to a single layer before they pass under the vacuum.

 

Prosser, Wash. --  The small Yakima Valley city of Prosser is rapidly establishing itself as the center of Washington’s booming Columbia Valley wine region.

The city of 5,000 on the Yakima River now boasts about 30 wineries, the Washington State University Irrigated Agriculture Research & Extension Center, and is the site for the upcoming Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center.

Bids will be opened this week for the first phase of the latter attraction. Meanwhile, a popular winery cluster is being expanded; an innkeeper just signed for an adjacent future B&B with antique and cheese shops.

 

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