Missing in the Future: Barrels and Vyd Workers?

[Rebel Rose]

Some speakers at the annual UC Davis Wine Executive Program predicted that more wineries will abandon the use of barrel cooperage, and that vineyard work will all be managed by machines, guided by GPS systems.

Missing in the Future: Barrels and Footprints?

What do you think? Fact or fiction?

[Craig Camp]

We ,and many of our neighbors, have vineyards that are too steep for machines.

At this time, no machine harvesting system exists that is gentle enough to harvest pinot noir grapes in a condition to make exceptional wine.

[Casey Hartlip]

I think they're right.

There's a great story in the April issue of Wine & Spirits and the use of micro-Ox (as well as other 'black market' winemaking tricks). I think the $6-$12 a bottle wine in California is going to have machine picked fruit and micro-Ox aged rather than barrels. I went through Napa last week and was blown away at how many vineyards were yet to be pruned. The guys on the valley will pick by machine and hopefully that will free up some pickers to pick my mountain fruit!

[Rebel Rose]

Casey, in addition to mechanical harvesters, aren't there also now mechanized pruners and trellising systems? And I seem to recall a recent demonstration of a tractor-pulled hoeing device that (purportedly) grubs out weeds around the base of the vine without banging and damaging the vine itself. Now if we could just find a gopher-seeking missile . . .

[Casey Hartlip]

They've had mechanical pre-pruning in Cali for many years. The next step will be 100 machine prune (which has been in Australia for quite some time). It takes the vines a few years of over cropping to sort themselves out, but it works for the jug market. There's also machine leaf removal here in Cali ( a HUGE cost saver). I've talked to guys doing this and they say the leafer pays for itself in one season, depending on the size of your vineyard. This biz has changed a bit since I pounded grape stakes by hand for weeks at a time!