Paso Robles has become well known for its wine and brewing industries. The American Viticultural Area (AVA) of Paso Robles and Greater San Luis Obispo County published the wine and wine grape industries had an economic impact of $1.9 billion to the regional economy in 2015. And these industries hire people (as in 13,627 employees) who stand on something when not in the fields with the grapes. What’s the winery flooring of choice? Concrete.
The magazine Wines & Vines took notice of concrete for winery flooring back in 2010 (Mitham, J.) noting that North American wineries were using concrete and concrete coatings more than tile like they do in Europe. They cited concrete’s durability and the coatings’ anti-slip qualities and resistance to drops/breaks as part of the reason for the favoritism here.
Breweries and Wineries Have Agricultural Flooring Needs
Brewing and fermenting, using fruits and hops, boiling sugars, adding waters, drips, spills, and cleanups… brewery and winery flooring is subjected to the demands of the agricultural business with the sanitation needs of a hospital. And in a room that might be kept cool year-round, sudden boiling water could break some flooring solutions. Breweries and winery floorings also have to deal with acids which might spill from the products themselves; we all know red wine stains. Concrete flooring for breweries and wineries offers solutions to these agricultural and sanitation demands.
Concrete can Hold Heavy Beer and Wine Loads
Breweries and wineries need flooring that can withstand heavy tanks and barrels when full of beer or wine. Concrete can be reinforced to handle this burden and strengthened even further with diamond polishing or epoxy coatings depending on the specific need. Have you ever seen a tank (military, not brewing this time) on display at a museum? It will be on a highly polished concrete surface or one reinforced with epoxy for its high compressive strength. If it can handle that tank, it can handle your brewing tank.
Brewery and Winery Floorings Need Anti-Slip Properties
Concrete coatings are available for winery floors, as mentioned earlier, which also provide anti-slip qualities for staff in wet conditions. Epoxy coatings are very popular for brewery and winery floorings in particular because the epoxy provides a moisture resistant barrier which prevents bacteria from growing in the cracks of bare concrete and is easier to clean, but the biggest benefit to the staff is the anti-slip properties of the epoxy coating. If you give tours of your brewery or winery, this is often of particular importance.
Decorative Flooring Options Are Available with Concrete
It’s also important for breweries and wineries to have a complete package with their flooring that includes its aesthetics. Nearly all wineries offer tours of the winery itself, even if just to the wine club members or during special events like the Paso Robles Wine Festival, which means that the appearance is important. People notice the floors. With polished concrete, staining is available to create a decorative finish that is impressive while still easy to maintain, and epoxy coatings come in a variety of color combinations and flake grits (including metallic) enabling even a marbled or water-like appearance. Wineries never need to sacrifice safety and convenience for beauty with concrete flooring, making it the perfect flooring choice for breweries and wineries. (By the way, olive oil is taking off in Paso Robles, too, and olive oil farms and processors can gain the same benefits from concrete as winery flooring does, in case you’re wondering.)
Tasting Rooms Benefit from Concrete Flooring, Too
Like the “behind-the-scenes” rooms of breweries and wineries such as barrel rooms and fermentation rooms, flooring that can withstand sudden temperature shifts during cleaning, the dropping of equipment, and the acid of wine, and remain impenetrable to bacteria are all important features for the tasting room. And in the hospitality industry, color is an important feature. We suggest using concrete flooring as your #1 asset in the tasting room (after your wine, of course!), to bring color into the room. You can opt to bring nature inside with earthen and oak tones, as many do in our area, or in Santa Barbara the color choices are often more terra-cotta and desert shades compared to the colors we see in Monterey which prefers the coastal rocky colors. Or, you could go against the grain of nature with your colors; our epoxy coatings even come in glitter and pearlescent leaving the limits of color only up to your imagination. Stamped concrete is also popular with wine tasting rooms and winery patios. Your tasting room branding will leave a lasting impression on your customers by utilizing every square inch of the canvas your tasting room gives you, starting with the floors.
Pristine Concrete is a concrete contractor in Paso Robles, California, offering concrete and concrete flooring services.