Photo by Barrelwise
The Barrelwise Team
Artem Bocharov, Jason Sparrow, Miayan Yeremi, Adrien Noble and David Sommer.
The smart money is going to the wise, as Vancouver startup BarrelWise has closed a $3.1 million seed round.
Orchard and Vine has previously covered Barrelwise, which developed a clever technology allowing winemakers to measure SO2 levels 15 times faster than lab analysis.
The company has since collected an impressive client list, including Andrew Peller, Frind Estate Winery, Arterra Wines Canada, and Mission Hill Family Estates.
The rave reviews from customers has now helped Barrelwise attract seed capital, with the round led by Conexus Venture Capital through its Emmertech fund. Ag Capital Canada also participated in the funding round, and Conexus managing director Sean O’Connor has joined the company’s board of directors.
The idea for Barrelwise came about when one of the founders worked in the rum industry, and had an idea to help in the manufacture of products made in oak barrels.
“We came up with some rough ideas for technologies that could help to improve these processes, which were encouraged by winemakers that we knew,” said CEO Jason Sparrow.
In 2019, a year after the startup’s formation, BarrelWise joined the HATCH accelerator at UBC and started working full-time on the business.
After securing this seed capital, BarrelWise said it intends to “ramp up and support” its FS1 product. The funding will also be allocated towards expanding BarrelWise’s team to bring on key sales, marketing, and technical personnel, as well as bolstering the startup’s production and customer support capabilities.
The system includes specialized bungs for each barrel and a unique cart. A hose with a head unit runs from the cart and attaches to each bung to take measurements while also allowing for topping up in a single visit.
“What we’re building on top of this is the sensing. We had to start with this first system,” said co-founder Artem Bocharov. “We were in trial phase with several wineries for a while. Now their cellars are fully outfitted with BarrelWise bungs.”
Bocharov says the greatest advantage is the Barrelwise system lets winemakers know the sulphite level in every barrel, while greatly reducing the time and effort of testing.
