Whether your winery brings in 5 tons or over 5,000 tons a year, crafting grapes into wine requires planning, structure, and capital investment. Without a good management system in place, all that work could be compromised at any point.
Since labor is still a significant component of winemaking, investing to improve your operations will allow you to maximize your team’s potential and yield the highest quality end-product. Modern wine production software should be the foundation to manage this.
Not all wineries share the same workflow procedures or winemaking styles, but there are some shared strategies many wineries use to improve their wine quality with winery production software.
1) Minimize room for error
We’ve all been a part of simple mistakes resulting in quality compromises and inventory losses. Were a majority of these mistakes preventable if you had spent more time structuring processes and workflow? I bet so—especially during harvest when staff is tired and often overworked. Having reliable SOPs and accountable steps to follow for any given task will narrow this window for error, which in turn has undeniably positive effects for overall quality management and risk mitigation.
2) Have access to critical growing season metrics
We all know the potential for a wine’s quality is set by the vineyard. The days of sifting through your three-ring viticulture binder should be over. Having real-time insight into vineyard trends and seasonal data with strong vineyard management software is essential to be forward-thinking about future vintages and to understand how to maximize quality.
3) Re-focus your most valuable personnel on top-line work
Why would you pay your winemaker $40/hour to spend 50% of their time maintaining spreadsheets? You’re throwing away money on your most valuable personnel. Keep them focused on what builds the most value to you, which is spending time in the vineyard and cellar, tasting, networking, and growing professionally, not stagnating behind a computer. Enable them with tools that allow them to do their job from anywhere and access the information they need at their fingertips to maximize your wine quality potential.
4) Equip your team with modern tech
Select technology tools that allow your team to be most effective at their job. Whether that be utilizing a digital work order system, pushing production software notifications to your personal phone, or using mobile apps that capture and contain your production data, it’ll make your operations that more efficient and save time and money in the long run.
5) Invest in your people
Happy employees do better work. It’s just a fact. There’s no doubt that when employees feel empowered, are given the freedom to explore their art, and are encouraged to have fun produce better outcomes. Give them what they need. Allow them to do their work from where they’re most effective. Invest in technology that excites them and provides the structure to simultaneously improve your wine quality. Provide your team with an environment where they can flourish, and your business will in turn.
Ultimately, winery management software can simplify and optimize your workflows and processes. That leads to fewer (and less costly) mistakes, more transparency throughout production, improved team accountability and dedication, and, ultimately, to produce the highest quality wine possible.
InnoVint empowers winemakers to maximize their potential – as artists, as scientists, as managers, as operators, and brand promoters, as your employee. We remind them how fun winemaking can be, allowing them to get back to their craft they fell in love with 100% of their focused efforts on making the best wine possible.