Chardonnay 2.0

Palm Beach Illustrated | By Mark Spivak | Aug 22, 2018 | Original Article

American Chardonnay has gotten a bad rap—not without cause, in many cases. For a decade or more, beginning in the 1990s, it was impossible for them to be buttery enough, creamy enough or ripe enough. Sugar levels were staggering almost across the board. Returning from a trip to Germany in 1998, I was startled to find that many domestic Chardonnays were sweeter than the Rieslings I had been drinking in the Mosel and Rhine.

Innovating Wine Through Data

Big Data Beard | By Erin K. Banks | LISTEN HERE

In this episode we met with Christian Palmaz, CEO of Palmaz Vineyards and President and CEO of Vactronix Scientific, a material science company based in Silicon Valley. Palmaz Vineyards has been able to pull together wine and data together to not make better wine but how can big data make the process less prone to error, more sustainable to quality and to allow the wine makers to focus on what is most important, making the best wine possible… to enhance the human element which makes wine beautiful, multi-dimensional, and complex. All the things we have a hard time putting numbers to

In the wine industry, there are many creative people, true artist but as Christian stated, “you can spend your whole life studying art but that does not mean you are going to be a great artist”. Christian now feels like he plays a supporting role to those that have the artistic direction even though he has a computer science background. His father started this innovative spirit and the process of using innovation to problem solve. Christian said it best when talking about his role in wine and data analytics, guys like him “don’t wield the paint brush, we make the paint”… and what great paint it is.

From Water to Wine

trinity university | by Molly Mohr Bruni | January 30, 2018 | Original Article

Christian Palmaz ’07 builds intelligence technology that save his family’s vineyards during Napa Valley wildfires.  

Wine’s newest bouquet has hints of berries — and data

CNET | By Erin Carson | WINTER 2017 | Original Article

You might not be able to detect notes of tech in your glass, but California winemakers are embracing cutting-edge techniques to create world-class vintages.

The computer that Saved a Vineyard

Bloomberg BusinessWeek | By Larissa Zimberoff | December 6th, 2017 | ORIGINAL ARTICLE

As helicopters rescued people and their pets off Atlas Peak, in Napa, Calif., one night in October, Christian Palmaz was nearby battling his own flames. His task: to save his family’s winery, Palmaz Vineyards.

Fire On The Mountain: One Vintner’s Tale Of Peril In California’s Napa Valley

Forbes | By John McCarthy | Nov 1, 2017 | Original Article

Sunday, October 8, 11:00 pm: Napa Valley winery owner Christian Palmaz received a text from a buddy with news that a fire was spreading through Atlas Peak, about two ridgelines away. Christian thought little of it. He had no inkling he would soon be facing the first of seven fires ignited that night, the beginning of what became a raging inferno, raining hell on Sonoma, Santa Rosa, and Napa—claiming 42 lives, decimating over 6,000 homes and businesses, and damaging or destroying 27 wineries. As I am writing this, fires in Santa Rosa are contained, but not out.

12:00 am: “I could see the glow on the top of the mountain,” says Christian Palmaz, owner and operator of Palmaz Vineyard in Napa, California.  “No news agencies were reporting this; it was the first fire, the beginning. The power started flickering, and that was the first sign that this was something big, but there were no evacuation orders, nothing like that. We ended up losing power, so I drove to the winery to make sure the generators transferred over. When I came out at 1:00 am, the fire was near the property line. It moved half a mile in a matter of what felt like minutes. I couldn’t believe it.”

Vineyards may have kept Wine Country fire from getting worse

La Times | By Geoffrey Mohan | Oct 12, 2017 | Original Article

Christian Palmaz used hoes, shovels and rakes to keep flames from his family’s 19th-century vineyard estate home on the flanks of Mt. St. George in eastern Napa County.

But he didn’t have to worry about his vines. They’re green, very much alive, and a stark contrast to more than 500 acres of oak, manzanita and grassland charred by the Atlas fire as it tore across Palmaz’s property.

Plumas News: Field Trip Applies Computer Science to Agriculture

Plumas News | By Maggie Wells | Sep 29, 2017 | Original Article

We don’t often think of agriculture and computer science in the same breath, but on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 10 computer science students from Indian Valley, Quincy and Chester saw first hand how the two go together.

Napa Valley vintner and Genesee Ranch owner Christian Palmaz hosted the Plumas County students at the Palmaz Vineyards in Napa Valley to observe the application of computer science in agriculture — specifically wine making.

Winespeak: Visiting Palmaz Vineyards

Marin Magazine | By Danielle Botros | Sep 29, 2017 | Original Article

Where Tradition and Technology Co-exist, Comfortably

As a fine wine specialist and someone who’s been in the business for over 20 years, I was both curious and a bit skeptical as to what this famously high tech winery was all about. Allow me to explain my cynicism. There tends to be a bias in the industry against what is perceived as “over produced,” or “showy” winemaking. As they say, “great wine is made in the vineyard,” not in a lab room. My goal was to see what the fuss was all about and if, indeed, the innovation made a difference in the wines.

Swanky Sips – Palmaz Vineyards

SWANKY | Sep 22, 2017 | Original Article

From the first glimpse of the distinctive, handcrafted label, the wine lover begins to understand the Palmaz family ethos: “Love the land, know the grape and make a wine that honors both.”

To those familiar with the brand, a bottle of wine created by the Palmaz family evokes elegance, luxury, and the anticipation of pleasure on the palate.  This was the intention of Dr. Julio Palmaz and his wife Amalia when they founded the winery.  And so it remains today, as son Christian Gastón Palmaz and his sister Florencia continue the tradition started by their parents.