Wine barrel tech maker moving to Napa Valley

Simple Labs, which produces a device to monitor wine barrels, has announced plans to move its company headquarters from Southern California to Calistoga.

“With an initial regional focus upon the Napa and Sonoma regions for the release of the Cogni barrel monitor this year, Calistoga was a natural and fitting choice for Simple Labs,” said Simple Labs founder and CEO Mike Slone. “In addition, my family has also moved, and we are grateful for the warm welcome of the upper Napa Valley, as well as the many winemakers and vintners who have shown deep interest in our technology, some even joining our company as investors, directors and advisors.”

Stone invented a device called Cogni. The company describes it as a “patented, wireless, continuous, integrated barrel aging monitoring system that can track temperature, humidity, phenol/guaiacol, acetic acid, SO2, pH, alcohol and fill levels, making real-time data accessible to winemakers from anywhere worldwide.”

The company currently is located in the Orange County community of Coto de Caza.

Simple Labs also announced a board of directors. Members include Slone; Steve Kalin, chief strategy officer; Mitchell Huang, chief financial officer; Andrea Slone, director of operations; Tamara Kalin, director of marketing; and Matthew Shipley, product director.