Precept Wine & Spirits achieves 22-to-1 refrigerant charge reduction with G&D Chiller’s new Elite 290 propane-based chiller, positioning ahead of EPA’s 2026 phasedown deadline
G&D Chillers, an Ingersoll Rand company, has installed an Elite 290 series glycol chiller running on R-290 propane refrigerant, achieving a global warming potential (GWP) of approximately 3 at Waterbrook Winery, based in Walla Walla, Wash.
Seattle based Precept Wine & Spirits is the largest privately held wine and spirits producer in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 2003 by Andrew Browne and Dan Baty, the company’s wines and spirits have garnered more than 1,100 combined best buys and critical scores exceeding 90 points.
Precept owns and maintains nearly 4,000 planted vineyard acres across Washington, Idaho, New Mexico and Oregon; such leading wine brands as Browne Family Wine & Spirits, Battle Creek by Browne Family, Gruet, House Wine, Waterbrook Winery, Canoe Ridge Vineyard, Primarius, and Callaway Cellars. Precept’s Grape & Grain division has been dedicated to innovating and producing top performing private label brands.
The new G&D Chillers installation sits far below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new 700 GWP threshold for industrial process cooling equipment, which took effect January 1, 2026 under the AIM Act’s HFC phasedown.
Precise temperature control during fermentation is a production requirement for winemakers, not a preference — glycol chilling systems that drift or go down during peak fermentation season create real quality and financial risk. Waterbrook’s unit, a GD-300H-6CNR, achieved a 22-to-1 refrigerant charge reduction compared with a conventional system, resulting in tighter superheat control, more responsive load following, and consistent capacity at the design setpoint.
Because R-290 is a natural refrigerant that predates the HFC era, the installation gives Waterbrook — and by extension Precept Wine’s broader portfolio of more than 30 labels — a cooling platform that isn’t at risk of falling out of compliance as regulations tighten over the equipment’s projected 15-to-20-year service life.
“We wanted a decision we wouldn’t have to revisit in five years,” said Mike Allen, Director of Facilities, Precept Wine. “The Elite 290 gave us that, and G&D made the whole process easy.”
“The industry is moving quickly, and customers need equipment that’s compliant today and serviceable long-term,” said Paul Johnson, Director of Technology and R&D, G&D Chillers. “A2Ls and R-290 allow us to deliver the same performance and reliability G&D is known for while aligning with current regulations and standards.”
The Waterbrook installation is one of a growing number of food and beverage projects, including New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colo., where operators are moving to ultra-low-GWP refrigerants ahead of regulatory requirements, rather than waiting for a compliance deadline to force the decision.
G&D’s Elite 290 platform now scales across three configurations to fit wineries of any size. The Elite 290 Microseries is built for tight equipment rooms and extreme ambient conditions; the Elite 290 Large Scale — the configuration behind Waterbrook’s system — is engineered for high-volume production; and the newly launched Elite 290 Ultra houses six compressors in a single unit for the largest facilities that need redundancy and precise load-following at peak demand. Across all three, propane’s near-zero GWP keeps the equipment exempt from HFC phase-out programs, giving wineries a compliance position that doesn’t expire as regulations tighten.
About G&D Chillers
G&D Chillers, an Ingersoll Rand company, designs and manufactures glycol chilling systems specifically for the commercial brewing, wine, dairy, food processing, manufacturing, biogas and other process-cooling applications. The company is headquartered in Junction City, Ore., and builds refrigeration systems designed for reliability, efficiency, and long-term performance. Since 1993, G&D Chillers has supported industry-leading customers including Ninkasi, New Belgium Brewing Company, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Sara Lee, Stumptown Coffee, Jim Beam, Boeing, Diageo and Brew Dr. Kombucha. For more information, visit www.gdchillers.com.
