Methods of Harvesting Grapes

There are two methods of harvesting ripe wine grapes. “Mechanical” harvesting utilizes a tractor that goes over the rows of vines shaking everything off of them. Not only healthy grapes fall off onto the trays beneath it, but bad grapes, bugs, animal residue, twigs, branches, etc., so an intense selection process must take place at the winery. This method is fast, economical and used for commercial wines. A better method is “hand” harvesting, where people handpick the grapes. Having eyes and brains, we pick only healthy fruit, reducing the selection process at the winery. Generally, quality wines or those grown on rough terrain are picked this way, but because of the labour intensity, are usually more expensive.