Machine Harvesters Gain Ground in California’s Premium Wine Industry
KERANA TODOROV
Kaan Kurtural, professor at UC Davis’ Department of Viticulture and Enology, discussed the ways in which trellising can be affected by mechanical farming.
Korvans based in Yountville, said vineyard manager Jim Burgess. “The technology has leaped forward,” he said. “The winemakers are requesting their fruit to be picked with these machines now.” One of the reasons, according to Will Drayton, director of technical viticulture at Treasury Wine Estates, “is we can get it to them exactly when they want it. The fruit can be picked at the optimal time and temperature.” He also noted that the fruit bins arrive at the winery with no leaves or jacks in them. “You look at a bin of these (fruit) picked…it looks like a bin of blueberries,” Drayton said. “It’s really very clean.” At Silverado Vineyards, Emmerich also said that machine-harvested fruit is much cleaner than hand-picked grapes. “Many times, problematic berries (raisins or rot) will remain on the stem and not come off when the machine passes over the vine. With hand-picking, the whole cluster is picked and then would need to be sorted later.” Money saved from machine harvesting can be spent on an additional “clean-up” pass through the block before the pick to make sure all the clusters are healthy, Emmerich said.
86 May 2018 WBM
Not all varieties are suitable for machine harvesting, though, Emmerich said. Chardonnay is not a good candidate, he said. The juice of machine-harvested fruit may sit on the skins and lead to bitterness. In addition, a small amount of oxygen may be introduced and react with the juice, causing oxidation. Leasing its Pellenc harvesters cuts the bills significantly while allowing Treasury Wine Estates to have the latest technology available, including improved fuel efficiency, according to Treasury. Having leased machines—and continued access to new equipment—also helps attract talent, Burgess said. A crew of 20 operators are assigned to the fleet of machine harvesters in Napa and Sonoma, according to Treasury. The Pellencs based in Yountville pick about 25 tons a night with only four people. The rest of the year, the machines are used to pre-prune and spray.