Smart Winery & Guest House

Winemaking comes with a lot of patience, so imagine the difference that some automation could make behind the master craft. Intelligent control can help speed up processes in the winery and even the guest house, so staff can focus on important areas of work and guests can simplify check-in and more. Read more about room controls in the guest house and automation in the winery that supports fermenting and storing wine.

Winemaking comes with a lot of patience, so imagine the difference that some automation could make behind it all. Intelligent control can help speed up processes in the winery and guest house, so staff can focus on important areas of work and guests can simplify check-in and more. Read more about room controls in the guest house and automation in the winery that supports fermenting and storing wine.

Facts at a Glance

Where:
Hustopece, Czech Republic

Sector:
Hospitality & Production

Business Name:
Harmacek Winery & Guesthouse

Loxone Partner:
George(Jiri) Harmacek

Room settings based on occupancy

Each guest room is equipped with smart lighting, audio, temperature control and automated motorized blinds to make the stay as comfortable as possible for the guest and easy for the staff. Energy efficiency is also a key feature as a whole system. Lights are automatically switched off when they are no longer needed and the underfloor heating is turned down if a window is left open. When no guests are staying in the room, the heat pump is automatically switched off. All of these steps ensure that energy is not wasted.

The blinds in the rooms work automatically, but guests can adjust them whenever they want with a tap on a Touch switch. Then, when their stay is over, the rooms revert to ‘basic settings’ – lights are turned off, air conditioning is stopped, room temperature is set to a lower value, and the blinds go back to automatic. This means that staff no longer have to worry about manually preparing all of this in the rooms.

Fermentation control

The owner, George Harmacek, is also a Loxone Partner and offers intelligent home automation to many customers. However, he initially found Loxone while looking to improve his wine production process and, more specifically, the fermentation process.

George and his cooling supplier came up with the convincing fermentation control method.

“The grapes’ must produces heat during fermentation and needs to be regulated to make the process continuous and slow. Loxone constantly monitors the must’s temperature with sensors and automatically controls the cooling in the double jacketed tanks accordingly. A set of valves, as well as the drive control of the small pumps that send out water for cooling, work automatically,”

– George Harmacek, Winery & Guest House Owner

3 advantages of this solution

George loves this solution so much for his own winery, that he now wants to offer it to other winemakers in the region. So what does he see as the main benefits of having this system in place?

1. An overview of the fermentation system

Regardless of where George is, he can check the temperature in the fermentation tank with full remote access to the system so he no longer needs to come to the winery several times a day to check the status and changes. In addition, he can check the openness of the valves and the fermentation process directly from the Loxone App. He also can adjust the temperature of the cooling water based on the temperature of the grape must, which allows the must to be cooled gently without any sudden changes that may harm the yeast.

2. Competitive price

Although there are other systems on the market that provide remote monitoring, most of these systems are unaffordable to most smaller winemakers. Of course, the price depends on the specific needs and the production layout. In most cases, a winemaker, or any user of Loxone, can expect significantly lower costs while making the most of more features.

3. Instant notifications

In case of any potential issues with the cooling system, George will immediately be notified from the Loxone App so he has the chance to react immediately to prevent any potential damage to the equipment or the wine.

Elevator & air conditioning control

In the cooling room where the wine vats are stored, the temperature is also automated and can be controlled remotely. Then when wine is ready to be transported to the production area, the elevator en route is also controlled intelligently.

Additionally in the kitchen, the extractor fan is automatically controlled and tied into the air conditioning system. This switches on when the outside air temperature falls below a certain value. The air conditioning system also helps reduce air humidity in the wine cellar.