The demand for high-quality Pinot Noir can be traced back to the first century, when Ancient Romans began making the unique wine. News of this innovation traveled through the grapevine to gradually gain worldwide recognition. However, it was difficult to produce. 

Challenges seem to present themselves at each stage of the Pinot process. The grapes are not only difficult to grow, but they also bruise easily and must be skillfully picked, handled and transported. Then, the fruit ferments so furiously that the process can accelerate out of control and erupt like a delicious volcano, ruining an entire batch. Even after it’s bottled, problems persist: The wine can lose its color, aroma and acid balance. Pinot Noir may be the holy grail of wine, but it can also be a problem child.

It was long thought that only the Burgundy region of France could produce consistently great Pinot Noir. The mild climate, ocean breezes, ideal soil conditions and sunward-facing slopes were perfect for growing Pinot grapes. In the late 20th century, however, a relative newcomer burst onto the winemaking scene. The Willamette Valley of Oregon began producing Pinot comparable, if not better, than the famed Burgundy region. The two areas share many of the same characteristics: Pleasant temperatures, soil composition, rolling hills and even ocean proximity. They also sit along the 45th Parallel, a contour that is home to some of the world's greatest wineries.

A to Z quickly rose to prominence. They applied their business plan to a complete line of wine varieties, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Rosé. Demand began to grow, and so did the company. They added more employees, an estate vineyard and a fifth partner, Greg Popovich (who also has a second job as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs). Throughout the company, processes were modernized and optimized for efficiency. They streamlined their shipping/receiving system at the estate vineyard—which also serves as A to Z’s corporate headquarters.

Unloading a truckload of fruit takes a lot of time, especially when it is weighed one pallet at a time. The laborious process involved a forklift transporting each pallet to a nearby floor scale to record its weight. “We would get a flatbed with 20 tons on it,” says Jeff Hines, warehouse coordinator. “That’s 20 times to the truck to pick a bin, set it on the scale, back out, get the weight, pick it off the scale and then stack it. During the harvest, we needed two people unloading fruit, and it would take two hours. Then the truck would have to come back in a few days to pick up the empty bins after they were washed.” A to Z was processing an impressive amount of wine (10 percent of Oregon’s entire Pinot Noir output) and they needed a better solution. Scales Northwest installed the perfect solution: A SURVIVOR OTR truck scale and 720i digital weight indicator. Rather than weighing one pallet at a time, an entire truck can now be weighed at once. “At first, we were all a little nervous,” remembers Jeff. “The scale was installed right before harvest, which is our busiest time. None of us had ever used a truck scale before. We were used to little scales, and we were going to immediately rely on it.” However, the improvement was quickly apparent.  

The truck scale provided immediate savings, but it was also installed with future development in mind. Beneath the scale lies an empty cavern which will soon be filled with additional equipment. “We’re going to add a dolly so we can dump directly off the scale into production bins below,” explains Jeff. “It’s another way to speed up our process and maximize efficiency.”

Each passing season, more time is saved. At A to Z, however, time is not documented in days, months or years. It’s chronicled by vintages. The 2015 harvest was the first to be weighed on a SURVIVOR truck scale. At Rice Lake Weighing Systems, we think increased efficiency makes that particular vintage just a little sweeter.