Don't cry over spilt wine

Former dairy farmers, cafe owners and innovators Graeme and Alison Franklin.

Two years ago Pahiatua couple Graeme and Alison Franklin wowed the 'dragons' at Fieldays own Dragons Den-style competition for agricultural innovations.

The couple won the top prize, Most Viable Business, for their DTexH2O - an electronic probe and alarm to stop farmers spilling milk down the drain or getting water in the vat during wash-down.

They had been inspired by their background as dairy farmers and son's career as a sharemilker - although their day-job now is owning and running The Black Stump Cafe and Harrows Restaurant.

DTexH2O and the Franklins were finalists in the 2014 New Zealand Innovators Awards and they won Best Emerging Business at the 2015 Southern Tararua Business Awards.

DTexH2O is now on the market, see www.dtexh2o.com for more information
Now, according to Graeme, they have jumped the fence into viticulture, due mainly to a nephew being involved in the industry.

He identified a common issue also related to valuable liquid waste - wine spillage when filling or topping the barrels.

The couple adapted their proven DTexH2O technology to develop the DTexWine which they took to the Fieldays Innovation Tent.

Like their first product, Graeme says DTexWine pays for itself in no time simply by minimising waste.

"Using our new device saves time, because it is accurate, and maximises production, because all the wine goes into the barrel and none onto the floor."

He says a number of winemakers showed an interest in the product and, with a couple of recommended modifications, he believes it is viable to put it into production.

The probe is designed to fit into the bung hole as the barrel is being filled and indicates when it is full.

A harder part of the winemaking process is topping - a process to top up the barrels because of evaporation.

At this stage all the barrels are stacked, it is difficult to manoeuvre and usually quite dark.

The DTexWine has been modified to make this process easier and accurate, and even provides a light so the winemaker can see what they are doing.

- To register your interest, or find out more about DTexWine, email dtexwine@gmail.com