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THE 

FULL BOTTLE  MARCH 07

 Welcome to the 2nd edition of ‘The Full Bottle’,your wine newsletter that keeps you up to datewith the latest news in wine processing andpackaging equipment developments.

Greg Fulford, President

Bronco Vineyards

1

Bronco Wine Company is a multi-faceted

operation that processes, bottles and

markets several of its own still and sparkling

wine brands as well as providing complete

bottling services for several Californiastill and sparkling wine producers.

Because of Bronco’s increasing volume

in recent years, they have made several

significant investments in grape processing

and wine bottling equipment to increase

thru put and efficiencies. As John Franzia,

Co-President of Bronco, states “at Bronco

we are committed to continually improving

our operating efficiencies, product quality

and maximising our economies of scale.

Ultimately we must provide our customers

with superior value. And clearly one of the

components to enable us to achieve this isto consistently make good decisions about

the processing and bottling equipment

we purchase and install in our plants.”

With this in mind and because of increasing

demand, Bronco began the process in 2004

of replacing their sparkling wine filling

and closing equipment at their Ceres, CA

facility. After several months of internal

Col loPack So lut ions The Fu l l Bott le March 07

Robert Hall, Gale Jensen & Phil Giacalone.

meetings and vendor presentations, the Bronco

selection team (consisting of John Franzia;

Robert Hall, Production Manager; Gale Jensen,

Bottling Maintenance Supervisor) selected

ColloPack/Bertolaso to provide a BertolasoModular Monobloc model 54/12/5/9.

This bloc includes:

• Bertolaso counter pressure filler Model

Elettra 54/2100 with 54 filling valves

incorporating the latest

electro-pneumatic valve technology.

• Screw capper from Zalkin with 12

capping heads for aluminium screw caps.

• Bertolaso capper Model Kappa 605 with

5 capping heads for plastic overcap.

• Bertolaso corker Delta 609 S with 9heads for sparkling and still wine corks.

With this bloc Bronco can produce sparkling

and still wine products at speeds from 130bpm

to 340bpm in 187, 375 and 750ml bottles.

When asked why Bronco ultimately

selected ColloPack/Bertolaso to provide

this bloc, Robert Hall responded

“We wanted to have the capability

to changeover rapidly, maintain

exact fill height levels, minimize

dissolved oxygen pick up, and

effectively clean and sanitize all

parts that come in contact with

the wine. After analyzing all of

the proposals, we selected the

Bertolaso bloc. Their equipment

along with ColloPack’s after

sales service program was

the best solution for us.” 

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Rodney Strong Vineyards has dramatically

changed since it was acquired by the Klein family

in 1989. Dedicated to producing quality wines

exclusively from Sonoma appellations including

Russian River, Chalk Hill, Alexander Valley and

Sonoma Coast, they have become one of the

most important premium wineries in California.

Under the leadership of Tom Klein, Proprietor,

and a dedicated staff, the winery has upgraded

its facilities literally from the ground up. From

acquisition and development of estate vineyards

to grape processing, barrel warehousing, super

premium winery within a winery, and most

recently a wine bottling plant, every aspect of

the Rodney Strong facility has been upgraded.

In 2005, the existing bottling line (installed

in 1993 and with some 1985 vintage

equipment) was running double shifts to

keep up with market demand. Although the

maintenance and bottling teams had done

an exceptional job, the line required constant

maintenance and no longer could meet the

desired production needs of the winery.

A bottling line acquisition team was developed

to define objectives, evaluate equipment

and potential vendors and ultimately make

recommendations to the Board. The team leaders

were Tobin Ginter, CFO; John Leyden, Senior

 VP of Packaging and Distribution; and Jim

Magness, Facilities Manager. After several weeks

of meetings, vendor presentations, visits to view

bottling lines, and audits of prospective suppliers’

facilities, the team recommended purchasing

the Bertolaso Unibloc 48/54/9, and the Robino

& Galandrino Z Astra 18 capsuling machine.

John Leyden expressed a number of reasons

why they chose the Bertolaso/ColloPack package:

• Positive previous experience withBertolaso filling and corking equipment

and R&G capsuling machines

• Competitive pricing

• Confidence in the capabilities of

ColloPack’s after sales parts

and service departments

• Technical advantages including

closed-loop automatic CIP system;

low maintenance, reliable wine filling

system; and durable, low

maintenance corking jaws.

• Controlled atmosphere chamber

above the filler to protect filling

environment from contaminants.

The bloc was installed and started up in

March of 2006. Jim Magness, Maintenance

Manager, appreciates its many benefits

including the precise control of the bottle

through the rinser/filler/corker bloc. Also

because of the modular construction of the

bloc, Jim now is syncro-linking (without any

modifications to the existing bloc’s structure)

a new Bertolaso Sigma ROPP Capper.

Rodney Strong Vineyards is dedicated to

crafting world-class wines with complexity and

varietal expression that capture the essence of

Sonoma County. With their new line bottling

line, they are confident that they will meet

the quality, packaging, and sales demands

of their current and future customers.

Rodney Strong Vineyards

3Col loPack So lut ions The Fu l l Bott le March 07

Proven Partnership you can rely on! 

ColloPack Solutions proudly

partner with the World’s

Leading Wine Equipment

manufacturers. Collopack’s

Team have enjoyed over

a quarter of a century of

wine industry experience

and installed thousands of

units of equipment from

the following partners:

Greg Fulford, Jim Magness, John Leyden & Joe Mironicki 

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 Vintage 23 By Diemme

ColloPack Solutions LLC

193 Camino Dorado Avenue, Napa, CA 94558 • Ph 707 258 3940 • Fax 707 258 3949

www.collopack.com

Dave Means Rick White Craig Richardson Phil Giacalone Joe Mironicki Mike Wlodarczyk

 VP VP& Product Manager Product Manager VP Sales Senior Sales Rep Northwest Sales

Administration & Service Processing Equipment Processing Equipment Bottling Equipment Processing/Bottling Equipment Processing/Bottling Equipment

Napa Diemme/ Tersainox Francesca Pumps Napa Sonoma/Oregon Washington State

Cell: 707 480 8709 Cell: 707 738 0511 Cell: 707 256 9829 Cell: 707 486 9439 Cell: 707 695 3125 Cell: 509 670 6027

dmeans@collopack.com rwhite@collopack.com crichardson@collopack.com pgiacalone@collopack.com jmironicki@collopack.com mwlodarczyk@collopack.com

4

From California’s Central Coast and Napa

 Valley through the Willamette Valley in

Oregon and Washington’s Walla Walla region

Diemme’s new Vintage basket press was used

to produce a broad spectrum of premium

red varietals during the 2006 vintage.

Winemaker Matthias Gubler of Viña Robles in Paso

Robles reported that their “experience with the

Diemme basket press was very positive” and “while the

quality of the press juice would vary depending on the

overall grape quality… the results were very good, very

clean and clear juice came out from the beginning

of the press cycle”. Viña Robles used their Diemme

 Vintage press for both Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet

Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot) as well

as Rhone varieties such as Syrah and Petite Sirah.

Cakebread Cellars became Napa Valley’s first winery

to use the 2,300 liter Vintage 23. During its first

season of use Cakebread processed about 50 per

cent of their reds with the basket press; completing

their pressing in early December. Cakebread plans a

comprehensive evaluation of their wines over time.

For the 2006 harvest, Joe Dobbes, Wine by Joe owner

and winemaker added a Diemme Vintage 23 to his

press pad. Wine by Joe is a full service, state of the

art, custom winemaking facility located in Dundee,

Oregon. With twenty two clients whose primary aimis to produce super premium Oregon wines Wine by

Joe focuses on quality and efficiency by incorporating

the finest equipment, gravity flow for gentle

product handling and exemplary cellar practices.

Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc,

Merlot and Pinot Noir were pressed in the basket

press. Joe felt he got more from the grapes using

the new Vintage, characterizing the resulting

wines as “more interesting”, having “more depth,

richness and structure”. Joe also reported the

wines showed “definitely better clarity” than

those from his existing membrane presses.

Long Shadows Vintners, near Walla Walla, Washington,

is a completely new facility which purchased a Diemme

 Vintage 23 for their red wine program. Winemaker

Gilles Nicault, stated that he “was astonished by the

quality of press wine” from his new basket press.

Long Shadows, created to showcase the viticultural

excellence of the Columbia Valley, brings together

some of the worlds foremost winemakers to

oversee the production of the varietals for which

they have become known for. These celebrated

vintners include Randy Dunn and Phillipe Melka of

California, John Duval of Australia, Michel Roland

from France’s Bordeaux region of Pomerol, Giovanni

Folonari of Tuscany and Armin Diel of Germany.

In addition to the Vintage 23, ColloPack Solutions

provided an 80 hl Diemme 80 MS.C tank press, Diemme

Kappa 15 destemmer/crusher, Diemme grape sorting

and conveying equipment and the flexible Francescarotary piston pump (used for both must and liquid

transfer). Completing the processing package were

Tersainox fermenting and storage tanks custom

manufactured to the customer’s specifications.

ColloPack equipment at Long Shadows not only

performed well but “added positive visual aspects”

appropriate to a cellar of such high standards.

Long Shadows’ choices were based not only on

providing their winemaking team with the best

available equipment in terms of quality and technology

but also on ease of use, reliability and availability

of after sales support; all key factors in selecting a

supplier for a facility in a rather remote location.

Long Shadows’ season was long and challenging

but also rewarding due to the quality it

produced. ColloPack Solutions is proud to

have been chosen as their major processing

equipment supplier for this ambitious project.