Napa winemaker hires AI apprentice to refine winemaking process

By Tom Vacar | Original Article

There’s plenty of talk about how artificial intelligence has the potential to simplify workflows for office employees across a range of industries, but its uses may reach much further. As one Napa County vintner can attest, A.I. may have a place in agriculture.

Palmaz Winery, located on Napa County’s Mount George, has started using artificial intelligence to produce prized wines after a quarter-century of doing it the traditional way. The goal is to reduce the time winemakers spend on tedious tasks that distract them from the essence of their craft, where they feel they’re truly expressing themselves through the product.

The Luxury Item: Christian Palmaz, Chief Operating Officer at Palmaz Vineyards

S09 E01 | May 2, 2023

Family-owned and -operated Palmaz Vineyards in Napa Valley is regularly voted one of the best wineries in the region and is known for fusing the time-honored art of winemaking and cutting-edge technology. Scott Kerr sits down with Christian Palmaz, COO at Palmaz Vineyards, to discuss his father Dr. Julio Palmaz’s journey from inventor of the balloon-expandable heart stent to vineyard owner. Christian also talks about the engineering marvel of the vineyard’s 18-story subterranean winery “Cave”, the smart technologies and big data analytics used to improve the winemaking process, expanding into cattle operations and creating a Wagyu beef enterprise, why Millennials are their best wine customers, and navigating through climate change and extreme California weather. Plus: Is AI technology eliminating the romance in winemaking?

Palmaz Vineyards | March 2023

We love to grill flank steaks for tapas. They are quick to fire up and are very flavorful and tender. Flank steaks also have the added benefit of a lower risk of overcooking. When paired with fresh zucchini and Chimichurri salsa this dish is celebratory of a coming Spring.  

A Cut Above

Written by Claire McArthur | Photography by Nicola Majocchi | Oct 12, 2022 | Original Article

Family-run ranch raises grass-fed wagyu in the High Sierra:  In the lush Genesee Valley at 3,500 feet elevation, black-horned cows graze in chest-high grass, with the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada looming behind them. Surrounded by the Plumas National Forest, roughly 30 miles southeast of Lake Almanor, the historic Genesee Valley Ranch is a family-run operation with roots dating back to California’s Gold Rush. Today, the Palmaz family — known for its eponymous winery in Napa Valley — is taking the same fusion of tradition and technology used to create their estate cabernet to raise, harvest, and sell their grass-fed wagyu beef.

“Let’s make beef worthy of our wine,” says Florencia Palmaz, co-founder and partner of Palmaz Vineyards, about her family’s mission of revitalizing Genesee Valley Ranch. “Let’s take the same model of what we call estate growing in the wine industry — our wine doesn’t leave the property, not for a minute, until it’s fully finished and ready for consumers — and take on that task in the beef world. We call it ‘estate beef.’”

Written by Elyse Glickman | ICONIC LIFE | MAY 2022

Napa Valley is known for idyllic conditions. It will forever be associated with rolling terrain, mild year-round temperatures and a home-grown wine and artisanal food scene with an international reputation.

By Christian Palmaz | May 2022

Our Brasas members only receive the best possible ingredients: meticulously crafted Napa Valley wine from Palmaz Vineyards and 100% grass-fed Wagyu beef from Genesee Valley Ranch.

Set into the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Genesee Valley Ranch is comprised of lush pastures and pristine grassland. It’s a bucolic image from a distance, but downright gorgeous up close.