The Zuccardi Piedra Infinita winery sits nestled in the Uco Valley surrounded by the pristine Andes mountains—an area with the type of soil and climate quality ideal for creating Zuccardi’s signature high-altitude wines. The acclaimed winery was recently voted best in the world for the second year in a row by more than 500 leading wine experts, sommeliers, and travel journalists from all over the globe.The Zuccardi winery typically offers guests a tour of its winemaking facilities as well as fine dining at two on-site restaurants, and excursions to an olive farm and art gallery featuring the work of local artists.
Guests tour the extensive vineyards observing the entire winemaking process from start to finish. They learn the science of soil selection and grape cultivation. They are taken deep into the winery’s cellars to see how the wine is stored in cement egg-shaped vats for fermentation and aging—a process unique to the history of the region.
Most tours conclude in the restaurant, the Piedra Infinita Cocina, which offers an elegant four-course meal and wine pairings alongside breath-taking views of the Andes mountains. Guests can also enjoy wine tastings from the Zuccardi selection all within the comforts of its imposing physical structure.
A Zuccardi wine tour has been a captivating experience for travelers visiting South America from all over the world for many years. But the recent COVID pandemic has brought it all to a standstill, forcing the winery to innovate.
In order to allow wine lovers worldwide to continue experiencing the greatness of the Piedra Infinita winery, the Zuccardi family decided to expand and offer virtual tours. However, the existing wireless network was not sufficient to allow unbroken connection for those interested in digitally touring the sprawling 104-acre vineyard and winery.Another unique challenge involved working around the massive cement walls, which were crafted from rocks and other natural materials found in the Piedra Infinita vineyard and Tunuyan River. The Zuccardi winery was originally designed to be a beautiful architectural wonder that blended in with the natural surroundings of the Uco Valley. But its impenetrable walls made seamless Wi-Fi connectivity difficult.
Through Nexsys, its distributor in Argentina, EnGenius arrived to offer the Zuccardi winery a wireless solution throughout the massive property, so that virtual tour guides would not suffer any interference or break in wireless communication while transmitting either indoors or out.
The EnSky Wi-Fi management system emerged as the most ideal solution for the Zuccardi winery. The system included a variety of indoor and outdoor access points and wireless bridges placed strategically throughout the vineyard and inside the facility.
In addition, PoE injectors provided power-over-ethernet capabilities to eight access points, while four 8-port gigabit PoE switches powered it all, eliminating the need for any additional cabling or other power source installation. The solution is rounded out by SkyKey hardware and ezMaster software that make on-premises network management easy and efficient.
The EnSky Wi-Fi management solution exceeded all expectations, allowing unimpeded network access throughout the vineyard and full access indoors in spite of the thick concrete walls.
Switch connectivity was the core of the solution, managing the organization of network traffic between various subnets on the property and dividing all services correctly and effectively. EnGenius switches enhance network speed and performance by carefully controlling the amount of bandwidth speed that devices such as access points need—right at the port itself. By providing just the right amount of speed needed in areas where bandwidth requirements fluctuate depending on the size of the room and number of connected devices, EnGenius switches accelerate overall network performance and efficiency.
In this case study, EnSky exceeded all expectations by the Zuccardi family, who today can still deliver their fine selection of wines and olive oil to you, while bringing the Piedra Infinita winery experience to you virtually until the day they can welcome you in person.
