Robots roll out the barrels in Treasury’s $10m futuristic winery

Driverless forklifts, and robots which collect data and move barrels around – take a look at Treasury Wine Estates’ Barossa Valley facility following a $10m revamp.

Driverless forklifts and robots are used to collect data and move wine barrels around Treasury Wine Estates’ production facility in the Barossa Valley, following a $10m investment by the wine group to create its first fully autonomous barrel hall.

The new automation system was unveiled on Tuesday, expanding the site’s production capacity by up to 60 per cent to 125,000 barrels.

Featuring nine driverless forklifts, a custom barrel management software system, automated barrel washing and filling facilities and individual barrel identification, the new system enables the company’s international winemaking team to control the system remotely and move barrels through the maturation process.

Robots at Treasury Wine Estates’ new automated barrel hall.

Treasury’s chief supply & sustainability officer Kerrin Petty described it as a world first for the winemaking industry.

“Our Barossa Valley site is fast becoming an international hub of innovation in winemaking and sustainability,” he said.

“Introducing full automation in our barrel hall increases our luxury and premium winemaking capacity, so we can craft more of our renowned wines for wine lovers around the world while creating a safer working environment for our people.”

Operations in the 35,000sq m barrel hall, at Treasury’s winery and packaging centre in Nuriootpa, currently run 24 hours a day, five days a week.

Treasury said forklift operators had either been re-skilled to operate the digital barrel management system and manage the new automated vehicles, or moved on to other roles at the site.

A driverless forklift inside the barrel hall. Picture: Ben Searcy

The company, whose brands include Penfolds, Pepperjack, Squealing Pig, Wynns and 19 Crimes, opened a $165m extension to its production facility in the Barossa Valley in 2022, making it the winemaker’s largest bottling operation globally.

The site, adjacent to Treasury’s Wolf Blass Visitor Centre, can produce 100 million litres of wine per year and package 216 million bottles.

As part of the latest technology upgrades, the driverless forklifts, known as autonomous guided vehicles, are controlled by a customised digital barrel management system developed with digital technology company Nukon – part of Adelaide-based technology and consulting firm SAGE.

Treasury’s director of supply technology Jodie Rowlands said the enhanced data and analytics capability delivered greater traceability and improved quality for the site’s 60,000 barrels of wine across brands including Penfolds, Pepperjack and Saltram, while the electric vehicles, powered by renewables, contributed to Treasury’s goal of achieving net zero by 2030.

“We’ve seen improvements in safety, efficiency and traceability in our barrel hall,” she said.