South Australia’s premium wine could be about to taste even better with New Zealand-based wine technology company, Winely, establishing a presence in South Australia as part of the South Australian Landing Pad program.
Winely’s technology offers winemakers automated real-time fermentation analysis that removes manual sampling and improves quality control via their hardware-connected device and software interface.
The technology enables winemakers to make better informed decisions about their winemaking by showing them various key metrics through a web app on their computer or smart device.
Minister for Trade and Investment Stephen Patterson said Winely’s move to the state strengthens South Australia’s winetech offering.
“The company will complement South Australia’s winetech ecosystem with like-minded innovative companies like Cellr and Leading Keyidea, who are forging a market around traceability and provenance of South Australia’s premium wine,” Minister Patterson said.
“Uptake of Winely’s technology by larger wine companies will create an impact on the industry, with potential flow on to be used by other smaller wineries, ultimately boosting the South Australian wine industry’s global reputation in premium wine.”
Under its SALP agreement, Winely has been awarded $80,000; $40,000 will be used towards office space and $40,000 which can be used to hire local professional services suppliers.
Winely Co-founder, Jacob Manning said they are ecstatic to be placing their headquarters in the heart of the country’s wine capital.
“We spent a lot of our early days talking with leaders of the South Australian wine industry and are excited to have the opportunity to work with them more closely,” Mr Manning said.
Winely Chief Technology Officer Abbe Hyde said this support will provide a greater ability for Winely to service the region.
“We have had enormous demand for our technology from wineries in South Australia and we are delighted to get to work with larger scale installations,” Ms Hyde said.
“The innovation we’re seeing from the wine industry in the wake of COVID challenges is an exciting opportunity. Our technology is helping relieve some of the associated labour shortages the ongoing challenge of the pandemic presents, and we’re looking forward to bringing that benefit to South Australia,” Mr Manning adds.
Winely’s operating model is based on a Hardware and Software as a Service (HSaaS) platform, with wineries paying an annual subscription to lease the sensor hardware and gain access to the Cloud-based software.
The company aims to provide deeper visibility into the underlying fermentation process of wine. Fermentation is a complex biological and chemical process utilised by many industries, including in the emerging biotechnology industry, where Winely believes its technology can add value.
The SALP is a crucial conduit for companies looking to build a presence in South Australia, helping businesses find a foothold in a new market, embed in the local economy, create jobs and forge connections with local vendors, partners, customers and collaborators.
For further information on the SALP, including details on eligibility, visit: https://dtti.sa.gov.au/investment/south-australian-landing-pad
