05 Dec PROGRESS UPDATE: Winery build at Kies Family Wines

PROGRESS UPDATE: Winery build at Kies Family Wines
Thank you to the many customers and visitors to the Barossa who have been in touch to ask about the construction happening at Kies Family Wines.

Construction of the new winery next to the cellar door has begun and will be completed before vintage 2020, where Bronson Kies (6th generation) will be the winemaker.

PROGRESS REPORT
As of early December, we now have two main structures standing between the cellar door and the Dedication Shiraz vineyard.

The first was our original machinery shed, which has now been fully insulated along with the installation of a new epoxy floor. This area will be used as our barrel hall.

The second structure will be the winery. It is 759m² and the concrete floor was poured earlier this week.

The winery tanks and catwalk are due to arrive on Wednesday next week and we look forward to welcoming our first grapes in February 2020.

QUICK FACTS:
The winery has been constructed with sustainability at the forefront of our minds.

SIZE: 759m² 

SOLAR: We have calculated the maximum power usage of the winery at the peak of vintage and have installed a solar powered system linked to batteries to supply ample power for the winery and barrel hall.

The winery and barrel hall will be running off batteries during vintage. When vintage is finished the power generated by the batteries will power the cellar door and cafe. We do have mains power to the winery but this will be used only in emergencies.

WATER: A pipe has been installed from the main supply to the winery. However we are installing a 200,000L water tank and with the storm water from both sheds combined we will generate approximately 500,000L per annum of rainwater, which is ample supply for the winery usage.

ONSITE WASTE WATER TREATMENT FACILITY: We have installed a series of settling tanks with an anaerobic system to allow water to be recycled for irrigation of a small wood lot located behind the winery.

LABORATORY: We will be installing a winery laboratory in the coming months, to run analysis on site from juice to wine. This will allow us to make on the spot decisions to maintain the super premium quality of Kies Wines.

TOURISM: We have made provisions to provide winery and vineyard tours for tourists visiting the area. The winery will have it’s own viewing platform – a 3 metre high mezzanine, which is 45m² in size, and can be safely accessed from the outside of the shed. We will be launching winemaker experiences, fortified experiences, and a barrel hall tasting with the winemaker.

TANKS: We will have a combination of open fermenters and closed top tanks, with full automation for brine chilling.

PUMP-OVERS: 80% of our tanks are setup for automatic pump-overs. Each tank is fitted with a pump and hard lines that go from the bottom of the tank to the top where the juice will be distributed through a sprinkler, keeping the skins wet and extracting maximum tannin, colour and flavour.

CLIMATE WIZARD: A climate wizard will be installed in the barrel hall, which is a large air conditioner and humidifier keeping temperatures between 16°C and 18°C. It will keep the humidity at 65% relative humidity, which is ideal for storing barrels.

WINERY DESIGN: After completing a university subject on winery design Bronson Kies has designed the winery to run very efficiently and hygienically with technology at the fore.

We are looking forward to crushing our first parcel of fruit around February and will keep you posted with our progress.

Thank you for all your well wishes and support and we can’t wait to get started.

Cheers!

The Kies Family