A Quest for Quality Wine, Every Time.: A Guide for Root Cause Analysis.

Wine has been around for thousands of years, grape growing and wine production is worldwide, and recipes are prolific.  However, this approach to winemaking root cause analysis is original and cannot be found in any other winemaking publications. The book start with the basics, with the authors' own basic winemaking steps. This provides a winemaking process and common language.  With this understanding and departure point, they describe Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methods as applied to winemaking.

Though winemaking appears to have simple steps, problems or flaws inevitably arise.  Instant access to online materials can provide ad-hoc answers to given conditions; however, the applicability of these solutions to one’s own situation ad particular conditions is not always clear.  Selective changes may or may not solve the problem and in the winemaking world, it may take years to finish the wine and understand if the quality actually improved or not.A finished wine will have thousands of particular current and historical conditions that played some role in its quality.The root cause analysis (RCA) approach provides a path to sort these out and guide winemakers to the solution. It creates a problem statement and systematically divides the world into six discrete groups. This book tackles each and all of these, one group at a time. 

The text contains examples that prioritize the contributing factors. Observations are noted, possibilities identified, and likelihoods assessed. Actions and tests are identified to aid in assigning risk, corrective action, and preventive measures.  Given limited time and resources, prioritized risks and actions improve the chance of solving the problem. The book provides problems exploring each of their respective six group characteristics. Each RCA step is described and illustrated in detail. The process is revealed and explained through multiple examples.

Feature 1: Organized systematic method for solving winemaking quality problems

Feature 2: Applicable to amateur or commercial winemakers or any other product or system development activity and organization

Feature 3: Unique new application to the wine making world but similar methods historically used in complex aerospace product development 

Feature 4: Teaching winemakers and producers how to think about uncertainty and error. It’s possible that gold medal wine, or 95-point Wine Spectator score, or 93-point Robert Parker score was deserved for that particular wine and vintage. But it is also possible you were very lucky.  It may not be earned again in next year’s vintage. This book teaches approaches and methods to maintain and or improve the quality, every year.

Feature 5: Application of a potentially 'dry' rigorous root cause analysis approach in a world that enables the joy of creating and appreciating something very enjoyable. It will help you smile, at least once a year. 

Joyce is a retired Aerospace Executive with 30 years of experience in materials and processes, contamination control, operations, and engineering.  She has several published papers in the field of spacecraft contamination control.  After retirement she worked in the wine industry in a tasting room, a winery lab, a home winemaking supply shop, and installed a couple of home vineyards.  

Bruce is a retired Technical Fellow with over 35 years in Aerospace developing ground, air, and space optical sensors and systems.  Bruce has been a research scientist, engineer, systems engineer, and program manager.  Bruce has published technical papers and taught optical systems engineering courses. 

Joyce and Bruce both have Winemaking Certificates from the U.C. Davis School of Enology and Viticulture.  Both of us have spent decades making things and solving problems.  We currently plant, grow, maintain, and harvest grapes from our own vineyard.  We crush, ferment, age, test, and bottle the wine in our own winery.  We have done many things right and many things wrong.  Some of our wines have won awards and others have not.  We have learned from both.  We are two winemakers on a Quest for Quality wine, Every Time.