Automated Ferment Tanks

Our brand new automated tanks are stacked one on top of the other, 3 tanks high. They are square in size in order to save on space and they have the ability to be heated and cooled as needed. Each tank has its very own pump built on to it and an irrigator in the top centre of the tank. Irrigators are used to circulate juice from the bottom of the tank over top of the fermentation ‘cap’. These tanks are packed with advanced features such as dissolved oxygen sensors, automatic pump over systems and temperature probes, as well as all the traditional components. Automating certain winemaking processes allows us to be more responsive to fermentation management and aids us in making great wines consistently.

Apart from being at the forefront of winemaking technology, these tanks are unique because they are custom designed for Frind Estate Winery and for the wines we are aiming to produce. At Frind we make many smaller select batches of wines, separating vineyards and varietals. This is our point of difference; at some larger, more commercial wineries, it is more economical to blend all their Merlot in one big tank and produce just one batch, whereas we are looking to pinpoint the nuances of flavour components provided by our different vineyards sites and varietals to make our very best wine. At Frind, we want to know which soils our Cabernet Sauvignon clones are thriving in or which Pinot Noir clone prefers a gentle breeze during summer. This is why we have invested heavily into small batch winemaking with the purpose of unravelling and discovering all the flavour profiles our grapes and vineyards are capable of.