When you’re weighing your irrigation automation options for your next vineyard development project, there are good reasons to consider putting Lumo in from the start. 1. Faster Vine Establishment With Lumo installed, you’re never going to miss irrigations, which is especially important during heat events that can damage young vines. Everything will run automatically according to the schedule you set, even overnight and on weekends and holidays.  You’ll eliminate the risk of under or over-irrigating because you’ll be tracking water volumes at a block level and you’ll receive alerts whenever there’s something up with your irrigation system performance.  Nailing your irrigation upfront is critical to the longevity of your vines, ensuring their roots get properly established and improving the long-term productivity of your vineyard.  With Lumo in from the start, you can be 100% certain your vines are getting the care they need to thr

“We successfully automated almost every irrigation set last season,” said Andrew Oliver, Vineyard Manager at Antinori. “Lumo’s pump automation is an absolute game changer for our team,” agreed Hunter Emch, Northern Unit Area Manager at Redwood Empire Vineyard Management. REVM and Antinori are two early users of Lumo’s Pump Automation product, a powerful new integration with its smart valve platform that automates irrigation scheduling and execution from end to end. The solution has already been deployed at ranches ranging in size from 60 to 1,300 acres. Real-time, block-level flow and pressure data from Lumo smart valves is used to verify performance, dial in precision, and keep critical infrastructure safe. Over 150 ranches in Napa, Sonoma, the Central Coast, the Okanagan Valley and Washington State are already using Lumo’s precision irrigation system to close their execution gap, increase operational efficiency, and irrigate to plan. In July

Santa Rosa, Calif., August 21st, 2025—Lumo, the leader in precision irrigation technology for specialty crop growers, today announced the launch of Pump Automation, a powerful new integration with its smart valve platform. Select growers on the North and Central Coasts are already using Lumo pump automation to fully automate irrigations from pump to plant on ranches ranging from 60 to 1,300 acres. With block-level irrigation data, advanced safety checks, and verified performance, growers are able to save time and achieve precision across a wider range of irrigation systems and setups than ever before. With Lumo, growers are scheduling irrigations overnight and at off-peak times, without relying on overtime labor or pulling folks away from harvest. Real-time flow and pressure data from Lumo smart valves provides the feedback necessary to dial in precision, optimize which blocks to run at the same time, and minimize damage from dry runs and pressure spikes. “Pump automation i

Lumo, the precision irrigation system growers use to irrigate to plan, has just released their new Irrigation Insights Report titled, Closing the Execution Gap: How Block-Level Irrigation Data Drives Profitability. The report presents first-of-its-kind block-level irrigation data collected from more than 4,500 irrigation events across hundreds of premium vineyard blocks in Napa and Sonoma over the course of the 2024 growing season. The central finding is that irrigation system performance is highly variable at an individual block level—one in ten irrigations miss their target volume by 50% or more and three in four irrigations miss by 10% or more. This lack of precision hurts growers’ ability to execute irrigations to plan and is costing them thousands of dollars an acre in lost productivity. The good news is that the report also highlights four data-driven strategies winegrape growers can adopt to dial in their irrigation precision and produce better crop outcomes. &ldqu

With visitor season in full swing, it is essential to guide visitors on how to find the winery, where they are, and inform them about ongoing activities upon arrival. This requires providing various signs, ranging from directional signage to entrance, parking, and washroom signs. Sign at Canada's Anthony Buchanan WinesWhile signs may seem purely functional, they offer an excellent opportunity to extend the brand and its personality. Assuming significant investment has been made into branding, packaging, and logo, it is crucial to maintain the integrity of the 'mother brand' across all elements, including signage. Here are some functional ways signs can be used and how they should tie into the brand. Sign at Okanagan Crush Pad in Canada First, it is important to attract people off the street and into the winery. Once inside, visitors should easily find the areas they are looking for, items on sale, or any special highlights. Location, bylaws, or municipal regulations will in

Verdi’s mission is to make modern irrigation automation accessible to all growers, regardless of vineyard size or type of irrigation system — even manual systems can be automated.  Most automation solutions for irrigation are expensive and tailored toward the upper tier of vineyard operations. Existing systems also fail to address the worsening conditions farmers face, including labor shortages and environmental concerns such as droughts, water scarcity and new water usage monitoring requirements from the government.  Yet, every grower needs to reduce water costs and waste and the time their team spends patrolling the vineyards for valve malfunctions and line breaks, as well as improve the quality and yield of their crop. As Verdi’s founders, CTO Roman Kozak and CEO Arthur Chen, worked to solve these problems, they realized the solution was to make the latest technology affordable and simple enough for farmers to install themselves.  “Arthur and I

Afternoon Brief, February 13th

January Deep Freeze Causes Near-Total Loss in Okanagan Vineyards: The Okanagan’s grape crop has been decimated by a mid-January freeze with losses expected to approach 100 percent this year...

Afternoon Brief, October 30th

Rudy Back in the Fake Wine Game: The world's most notorious wine counterfeiter is at it again – this time with his clients' blessings...

Blossoming in North America’s scenic landscape, winery businesses face a unique challenge: how to effectively market themselves without breaking the bank. Here are three marketing tips that can help you breathe some life into your wine brand, while on a budget:  Tip #1: Strategic Social Media Focus your efforts on a relevant social media platform and be consistent. Interact meaningfully with your audience, responding to comments and messages promptly. Amplify your reach with strategic use of hashtags, and utilize free scheduling tools to maintain a steady online presence.  Tip #2: Collaboration for Elevation  Forge collaborations with local eateries, influencers, and complementary businesses. Cross-promote each other's offerings, exposing your wine brand to new audiences. A collaborative Grape Stomping event hosted by Taste of Abby and Tourism Abbotsford at Singletree Winery Tip #3: Showcase User Reviews  Transform happy customers into your