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December 2011
Robb Report Web site
"In creating the 2008 Ovid Napa Valley ($185), head winemaker Austin Peterson implemented a new technology that allowed him to enhance the wine well before its debut this fall. Developed by Oakland, Calif.–based Fruition Sciences, this technology allows winemakers to track how much water is being absorbed by the vines in real time ..."
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November 2011
Qualiméditerranée Web site
Le projet PILOTYPE prévoit de développer un Outil d’Aide à la Décision (OAD) pour améliorer le pilotage des pratiques viticoles et oenologiques et la compétitivité des vins francais à l'export.
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July 2011
Wines & Vines - Wireless Water Sensing
"David Gates, vice president of vineyard operations at Ridge Vineyards, has installed a sophisticated tool for tracking field conditions and measuring the transpiration rates of vines planted at the winery’s Monte Bello Vineyard in Cupertino, Calif. The vineyard team collaborated with technicians from Fruition Sciences to build a network of sensors that reduces water consumption and improves the quality of the grapes."
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February 2011
FACCSF Blog
"With 80% of water in California going to agriculture, optimizing the use of water is indeed an important step in tackling water scarcity. To do so, Fruition Sciences has concentrated its research on monitoring plants’ physiological water needs."
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December 2010
Sommelier Journal Web site
"Although soil-moisture sensors have been available for years, they can’t measure exactly how much water is getting through to deep vine roots. Guesswork can lead to wasteful irrigation, “and in context of global warming, we want to be water-efficient,” says Thibaut Scholasch, a French agronomist with doctorates in viticulture and microtechnology."
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November 2010
Water Canada Web site
"By bringing more science to the table, we felt we could get people to rethink the way they water, and also the way they plant and choose varietals—all of these issues are connected to sustainability and water conservation."
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November 2010
Wines & Vines Web site
"An interesting look at the year comes from Thibaut Scholasch, Ph.D., founder of Fruition Sciences. Those results are based on vine water use measurements using sap flow in Napa Valley.
Overall, the late season start, combined with the high soil moisture availability, maintained a high level of water supply to the vine until later in the season (i.e. veraison). This caused the level of vine water use to be high compared to previous years. The consequences of that are:
a) Delayed maturation;
b) Larger berry size."
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September 2010
La lettre d'information économique de Montpellier Agglomération
"Comment améliorer la qualité en quantifiant le déficit hydrique perçu par la vigne et son effet sur le raisin, tel est le problème que tentent de résoudre l'oenologue Thibaut Scholasch et le polytechnicien Sébastien Payen, les deux fondateurs de Fruition."
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August 2010
LeMonde.fr - Bâtissons une planète plus intelligente
"Deux jeunes entrepreneurs français occupent un créneau original à Napa Valley, la grande région viticole de Californie : la collecte et la gestion des informations relatives au statut hydrique de la vigne, afin d’aider les producteurs à prendre les bonnes décisions d’irrigation."
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August 2010
The Canadian Farm Business Management Council Website
"Canada’s farm country is vastly different from California’s, especially when it comes to climate and water shortages. But California offers a lesson to anyone in the business of farming: when water is in short supply, you need to innovate.
...a french winemaker explains his point of view on growing vine in California using Fruition Sciences services."
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July 2010
Wines & Vines Web site
"Five experts offered their views. Interestingly, one clear message was that many of today’s vineyard irrigation practices waste water -- sometimes to the detriment of grape yields and quality. "Growers typically overwater," said Dr. Thibaut Scholasch of Fruition Sciences Inc. "We could irrigate much less, but we need to know how the plant is behaving.""
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May 2010
TechShower Web TV
"Les deux entrepreneurs nous expliquent dans cette vidéo comment, à partir de capteurs installés sur les vignes et d'une connexion internet, le viticulteur peut suivre en temps réel, le besoin en eau de ses plantes et gérer l'ensemble des facteurs météorologiques du domaine. Le domaine est ainsi supervisé grâce à une interface web et une technologie de pointe développée par Fruition Sciences. Un système qui, non seulement favorise la qualité du vin mais qui permet aussi de faire des économies d'eau."
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March 26, 2010
France-Amerique Magazine
Fruition Sciences remporte le prix Imagine H2O
"Les Français Sébastien Payen et Thibaut Scholasch, inventeurs d’un système de capteurs qui permet aux viticulteurs de connaître les besoins de leurs vignes en temps réel, sont les vainqueurs de la première édition de Imagine H2O, un prix qui récompense les innovations les plus prometteuses en termes d’économie d’eau."
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March 23, 2010
The Cellarist Blog
A lesson from Napanook vineyard
"The water equation is a tricky one. But I've rarely seen it summed up so succintly as in a Powerpoint slide prepared by Thibaut Scholasch of Fruition Sciences, one of Moueix's consultants, who works for a handful of other top names: Ridge, Dana Estates, Ovid, Harlan, Araujo, Spottswoode and so on. (Fruition's work with precise water-need measures are limited to those with deep pockets, as witnessed by that list. The hope is that the emerging technology will grow more affordable in time.)"
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March 21, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle
In Napa, a new path to using less water
"Scholasch believes not only that too much water is used in vineyards, but that poor water management adds costs and waste all through the winemaking process - leading to weaker flavors, less productive vineyards (the ripe style can require severe cropping) and extra effort in the winery (as water is added and the wine's chemistry corrected)."
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March 8, 2010
Competition Imagine H2O
Winner of the Imagine H2O Prize
"Fruition Sciences, which operates in both California and France, came first among 50 teams in Imagine H2O's global competition aimed at building a "Silicon Valley" for water.
The prize rewards the business plans with the greatest promise of breakthroughs in the efficient use and supply of water, and Fruition was able to show significant water savings for nine California grape growers that used the monitor."
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September 19, 2009
Les Echos
Irriguer moins pour une meilleure récolte
"La sécheresse qui frappe la Californie pour la troisième année d'affilée a semé la panique chez les agriculteurs de la Central Valley. Mais pour plusieurs vignerons de la Napa Valley, la célèbre région vinicole qui déroule ses coteaux au nord de San Francisco, c'est l'occasion de faire évoluer les méthodes d'irrigation.« Nous nous sommes rendu compte que moins on irrigue, mieux c'est pour la vigne », déclare Austin Peterson, oenologue d'Ovid Vineyards, un petit domaine haut de gamme de Napa Valley (6.000 bouteilles par millésime, à 170 dollars la bouteille)..."
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June 25, 2009
Inc.TV
During the French American Conference for Entrepreneurs, Senior Editor Rick Schine speaks with French American entrepreneurs on their dual-country businesses, and how to be successful in both. Sebastien Payen describes what Fruition Sciences is providing to its customers. In addition, he addresses the dual location of the company and the initial commercial success in California.
Watch the Video Online
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June 17, 2009
TF1 (National News in France)
TF1, the largest broadcasting corporation in France, does a story featuring Fruition Sciences about how "Wine Has Gone Hi-Tech".
The founders discuss how the sensors are being installed in the vineyard, how they measure the volume of water lost by the vine, how information is used to optimize irrigation and can be accessed in real-time on the internet.
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November 2008
France-Amerique Magazine
"They were featured last July in France-Amérique. Thibaut Scholasch and Sébastien Payen just won the first price of the Club 600 award on November 10, 2008 in New York city."
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July 2008
France-Amerique Magazine
"Revolution is in sight in the Napa Valley. Sébastien Payen and Thibaut Scholasch, two French entrepreneurs based in Berkeley, started in 2007 a company called Fruition Sciences. Their goal is to help the winemaker to improve irrigation and thus the quality of their fruit..."
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July 2008
Competition Senat Tremplin
Winner of the Jacques and Francoise Douce Prize
Tremplin Entreprises is a French business plan competition organized in the Senate. Applicants can submit business plans in four different categories (software, internet, biotech and materials). Among the 250 or more applicants, 30 companies are selected for the finals. Finalists are given the opportunity to present to a panel of investors, angels and specialists of the industry. Among the 30 finalists, 5 companies are awarded prizes (one in each category and one special prize - Jacques and Francoise Douce prize). |
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June 2008
Cleantechnica.com Blog
"Their science is impressive, but their timing is dead on. It doesn't quite seem fair that California has been blessed with
the perfect growing climate for some of the world's best agriculture (and of course, wine) but saddled with a water
shortage..."
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March 2007
Red Herring
Article on InVino Sense
"Jean-Charles Cazes might seem to be your typical old-style wine baron. His family-owned wine empire, originally established by his great-grand-father in Bordeaux, includes storied wine-producing estates such as Château de Lynch-Bages and Château Ormes de Pez. Tradition is well and good, but Mr. Cazes has his eye on a potentially revolutionary piece of technology he hopes will tell him when to pick his grapes..."
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August 21, 2006
Fortune Magazine
"Andy Grove had a saying when I worked at Intel," says Chuck McMinn, a Silicon Valley veteran who spent 25 years at the chipmaker and a series of startups. "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." That statement surely wouldn't raise eyebrows if the subject were microchips, but it's nowhere close: McMinn is talking about wine..."
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