Premium Wine Group, a 30,000 square foot custom crush and co-packing facility located 80 miles from New York City, announces the installation of two major pieces of equipment aimed at increasing the winery’s sustainability and capacity.

Developed in Australia, BioGill® is an advanced biological waste water treatment system that uses naturally occurring bacteria harnessed in membranes or “gills” to remove nutrients that would otherwise adversely impact surrounding soils and water tables. Premium Wine Group (PWG) is the first winery in the US to install it.

“Our original system was dated and not large enough to meet our growing needs. We found and invested in BioGill because it’s  uniquely effective and energy efficient,” states Russell Hearn, CEO of Premium Wine Group. “We’re now returning clean water back into the ground faster, safer and with much less energy usage. It’s a win for us and for our surrounding environment.”

PWG outgrew their bottling line right around the time they outgrew their waste water system. In their first few years of operation, PWG was bottling 50,000 cases on an annual basis. Currently the demand is over 300,000, as the Long Island wine industry has grown and the economics of bottling close to New York City have attracted foreign producers.

Earlier this year, PWG worked with Prospero Equipment Corp. to source and install a fully automated 8,000 bottle per hour bottling line complete with bulk glass depalletizer, triple head vacuum corker, AROL four head screw capper, Makro four station labeler, automatic case erector and packer, and Top Tier carton palletizer and shrink wrapper.

“Our bottling line is probably the finest on the East Coast and will allow us to meet both current and anticipated future demand,” says Hearn. “New York is the epicenter of the wine world, and more of the wine going into NYC shops and restaurants should and will be bottled here.”

As PWG enters their 22^nd harvest, they are doing so with equipment that supports their continued commitment to sustainability and growth.