Why do people balk at change?  When it comes to the vine/vineyard there are many traditionalists who find it extremely hard to change to modern methods.  As time goes by, many of those "traditionalists" realize they have to "jump on the bandwagon" or be left behind in the dust.                                                                         

Mechanical harvesting is a good example.  There's a lot of romance associated with winemaking, and running tractors through the vineyards is rather at odds with that. But it's very efficient, helping vineyards control costs and protecting grapes by getting them off the vines and out of the fields quickly. One attraction is that five people working with a mechanical harvester can do the work of a hundred people without.                                                          

The way a mechanical harvester works is that rods gently grip the grape vines, shaking them vigorously and dropping the grapes onto a conveyor belt, then into a large bin.  Very few, if any, grapes are harmed now, compared to the first harvesters, which often bruised and broke the grapeskins. Picking when the temperatures are cooler is ideal--mechanical harvesters are used in many vineyards to truly pick grapes after dark, protecting them from the heat of the day during harvest.

There are places where mechanical harvesting is difficult, if not impossible--the steep hillside vineyards of Germany, for example. But where it can be done, it's very much moving into the mainstream of harvesting practices. 

Remember when the screw-cap first hit the market?  What a  commotion it caused.  Gradually, this eased up when the benefits were realized. Don't be surprised that it's happening here, too.



Marie Griffin

Wine Supervisor North-West Florida

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinemarieg