Whats in the Barrel?
The barrel attributes a winemaker is interested in are in addition to records required by the FDA, the transportation company that delivered the barrel and even the buyer of used barrels. The contents naturally include the blend of wine, sources, chemical analysis and any additions, which are required for reports to the Food and Drug Administration under the Bio-Terrorism act. All the products have the capability for exporting data to other programs, typically Excel spreadsheets to create reports, but in some cases, the popular QuickBooks financial software. Trinchero’s Shirley has used WiPS long enough that he’s comfortable with the old prompting screen but admits that the graphic user interface now offered is easier to use, and he uses it for cutting and pasting into Excel, a common practice in producing reports. All allow winemakers to develop and record trial blends of wines. Rob Hunter is a big fan of The Winemaker’s Database; he’s been using it since 1990 at different wineries, i
