(Wines&Vines) - Record grape harvests across the Northwest are pushing custom-crush facilities to capacity and giving some cause to expand.

A record harvest last year and a run of vineyard acquisitions through the winter have prompted concerns in Washington state, where custom-crush facilities are operating near capacity (see “Record Harvest for Washington State”).

What’s happening in Oregon

This year promises to increase the pressure across the region. To prepare for the crush of fruit, Pallet Wine Co. in Medford, Ore., recently started acquiring an additional 10,000 square feet of space to accommodate growing production volumes for a stable of approximately 20 clients. 

Pallet winemaker and partner Linda Donovan expects production in Pallet’s original 22,000-square-foot facility to top 25,000 cases this year. The new building, located adjacent to the original facility, was formerly home to a printing plant and mail-distribution company. It will provide space for four offices, a tasting room and storage capacity. This will in turn free up space in the main building.

“With a very solid concrete floor we can stack barrels four and five high, and be really efficient in our barrel storage,” Donovan told Wines & Vines. Here, “we can only go two high, and we’re in the basement, and there are all the beams and all the sprinklers, and it’s just not as ideal.”

Approximately 7,000 square feet of the new building will provide storage, with the remainder split between offices and a tasting room to showcase Pallet’s clients.

The new building also offers better temperature control.