Vineyards, like many other types of facilities, need the right setup to be successful. From the equipment to the facility design, every detail is important. One critical feature no winery should overlook is a proper drainage system. Whether you are installing a system in a new facility or retrofitting a new system into an existing one, choosing the right system can make all the difference. Here is a look at the Reddy Vineyards project in Texas, where they recently retrofitted their facility with a Slot Drain system.

Why Wineries Need Drainage

Wineries use a lot of water and produce an equally large amount of fluid waste throughout the wine-making process. Without a place for this water and waste to go, it is left sitting on the facility floor in puddles. These puddles create slipping hazards for employees, can damage the ground, and even lead to the growth of serious bacteria that can contaminate the wine and raw materials. Preventing these things requires a simple solution: a floor-based drainage system, that will give water and liquid waste somewhere to drain away from the surface. As a result, the floors will remain drier and keep the facility sanitary.

What Winery Drainage Needs

Can Handle Heavy Equipment

Wineries require many different pieces of equipment to function. There are tanks, grape sorters, wine presses, filtration systems, bottling equipment, and so much more. None of these are lightweight pieces of equipment when they are empty, and especially when they are full. The right drain system will have no issue handling the weight and won’t break or bow under all of the pressure.

Ease of Maintenance

When you own a winery, you want your employees focused on creating high-quality, good-tasting wines, not keeping your drainage system clean. The right system should be non-porous and easy to clean, without it taking too long. There are also convenient options for clean-in-place and self-flushing cleaning systems that make maintenance even easier.

Stainless Steel Build

No matter what area of food and beverage industry a drainage system is for, the material you choose matters. For these types of facilities, it is essential to use a material like food-grade stainless steel, which is made with food and beverage facilities in mind and is a non-porous, corrosion-resistant, and bacteria resistant material. It is also better able to handle the extreme temperatures often found in wineries

Has a High Flow Capacity

As mentioned before, wineries deal with a lot of water and other fluids throughout the wine-making process. It is essential to choose a system that can handle large amounts of fluids without getting backed up or overflowing. Otherwise, the winery floors will end up covered in fluids, which can lead to all the issues you are trying to avoid.

How Slot Drain Can Help

Slot Drain is a newer form of low-profile trench drain that has many benefits. First and foremost, it comes pre-assembled and pre-sloped, making the installation go much quicker. Slot Drain also features a food-grade stainless steel construction, which makes it bacteria and corrosion-resistant, ideal for wineries. What makes Slot Drain truly unique is that the channel opening is narrow, so you don’t need a grate cover.

Slot Drain also offers the 9000 and 10,000 Series of trench drain systems that are made for heavy-duty applications, such as wineries. These models feature high flow rates, allowing them to handle large amounts of fluids with ease. They also feature a Load Class F, the highest load capacity a drainage system can offer.

Slot Drain is very easy to clean and maintain. They offer both self-flushing and clean-in-place systems that make cleaning a breeze. For tougher jobs, all workers have to do is use a brush and battle to loosen any debris and ensure the channel is clean.

Reddy Vineyards Slot Drain Installation

Reddy Vineyards is a winery that was founded in Texas in 1997 by Dr. Vijay Reddy. The winery now features over 300 acres and 38 different varieties of grapes, making them the most diverse vineyard in Texas.

Recently, Reddy Vineyards was remodeling their facilities and updating various features. One major project they undertook during this renovation was installing a new floor drain system. For their facility, they selected the 10,000 Series Slot Drain with a 1-inch channel opening, which is considered a specialized solution for the food and beverage industry. The 1-inch opening of the 10,000 Series has a flow rate of 18 gallons per minute per foot of drain, before reaching the catch basin that empties into the main basin.

They have the system installed on three sides of the winery to ensure all areas are covered and to make cleaning the whole facility a much smoother process. They demonstrated the efficiency of the flow rate in a YouTube video. With just a little help pushing the water to the drain channel, they have a clean, dry, and sanitary winery. They are incredibly pleased with their new system (and the staff at Slot Drain), and are ready to put their updated facility to good use!

Drainage is an essential part of a winery, but you can’t just choose any system. You need to choose one that is efficient, sanitary, easy to maintain, and that you can rely on for years to come. Reddy Vineyards made a great choice in selecting the 10,000 Series Slot Drain for their facility. Now, Reddy Vineyards features a highly functional, aesthetically pleasing, and easy-to-maintain drainage system that will work for years to come. If you are a winery owner or manager, and you’re looking into a new drainage system, look no further than Slot Drain.