Final Report: June 30, 2021
Principal Investigator: William Beightol
Organization: Collab Wine Company
Telephone: 509.832.4191
Email: will@collabwine.com
Co-PI: Ben Utter
Organization: Bloomfield Robotics
Telephone: 781.296.9929
Email: ben@bloomfield.ai
Cooperators: Grower cooperators: Mercer Ranches, Phinny Hill Vineyards, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Winemakers LLC, Coyote Canyon Vineyards, Shaw Vineyard, McKinnly Springs Vineyard
Project Cooperator: Dr. Wade Wolfe
Objectives: To provide growers actionable information on the crop load of their vineyard blocks near lag phase and véraison through beta-testing the use of Bloomfield Robotics “Flash” technology and analysis through their AI (Artificial Intelligence) system.
Additionally, to compare crop estimation results with other methods being trialed in other Washington State Wine Commission projects.
Field Operations: Field operations as a whole during this project was a collaborative effort between Collab Wine and Bloomfield, as we combined knowledge bases and developed practices around scan scheduling and data tracking. These scans included scanning 2 blocks at each of 7 grower partner blocks at least two times each and at different timing around lag phase, véraison, and pre-harvest. This resulted in 36 different block scans. As scans progressed
throughout the season, it became clear that a customer and scan database was an essential part of field operations and the collaboration. Collab Wine introduced the AirTable database development platform (pictured below) and created a new relational database that has evolved into the central hub for Bloomfield’s operational data for customers, blocks, scans, and extensive metadata that is tracked for each.
In addition to creating the foundation for our continued collaborative field operations, Bloomfield’s team was educated on essential viticulture concepts and vineyard management practices and exited the 2020 season with a firm grasp on growth phases, block layouts, vine training systems, and grower needs particularly focused on Washington vineyards.
Read more by downloading the full report above.