International. Christie projection solutions illuminate the ceiling of the fermentation room of Palmaz Vineyards, a Californian winery in Napa Valley, USA. Six M 4K25 RGB pure laser projectors display real-time data from each of the 24 fermentation tanks.
Palmaz Vineyards spans 240 acres and features an 18-story winemaking facility built on Napa's Mount George, with more than five blocks of tunnels dug underground.
At the heart of the winery is the fermentation dome that houses 24 fermentation tanks on a carousel. The grapes from the vineyards are transported here to be fermented into wine during a delicate and intense process of 60 days.
"It's a complicated process: fermentation is exothermic, which produces heat, so the temperature is constantly adjusted. But it's something any first-year oenology student can do. So why work with the best winemakers like we do? For other things that you can't put figures on," says Christian Palmaz, Chief Operating Officer of Palmaz Vineyards.
Palmaz wanted to find a balance between the creativity needed to develop its award-winning wines and the data to inform the fermentation process. They created a software system called the Fermentation Intelligence Logic Control System (FILCS) that performs millions of calculations per second from inside each tank.
Instead of limiting this large amount of data to an application on a tablet or desktop computer, Palmaz Vineyards decided to make this information available to its team of winemakers through projections on the ceiling of the fermentation room to enable a collaborative process.
"We wanted something that would serve winemakers and be hands-free. We had the idea of putting all that information on the surface of the dome. That's when I started studying projection technology," Palmaz said.
"I happen to be a pilot and, during my annual training, I was in a flight simulator and wondered how they got that perfect curved and blurred image. I went to the front of the simulator, and lo and behold, I see six or seven Christie projectors," Palmaz said. "I called Christie the next day and we got to work."
Palmaz originally installed Christie M Series projectors. "We needed enormous clarity, brightness and durability. We used the original M Series for over a decade and then upgraded it to the M 4K25 RGB for even more brightness. They're incredibly bright." The higher brightness of the projectors also allows Vineyard to use the room with more lighting, ensuring a safer working environment.
RFID sensors in each warehouse can identify which winemaker is in front of the warehouse and display personalized data on the vaulted ceiling.
"Color is very important. Because of our thermal imaging displays, color means a lot to us. Seeing the dynamic effect of color – as temperatures change when pumping occurs – is like varying the tones of bathtub water. We are talking about a temperature change of 5-6 degrees in the tank. But the range of colors displayed by the projectors helps visualize slight temperature variations, Palmaz said.
