Harvesting by Machine 2023

A look at how machines are used to harvest grapes

Day 4: September 5, 2023

Winery: Mottura Vini del Salento
Varietal: Primitivo (harvested for rosato)

This is my first time witnessing a vineyard harvest using machines.  The process is pretty efficient.  However, low hanging clusters seem to be missed by the machine.  I asked Teo about this and he said it has to do with pruning.  The vines have to be pruned for machine harvesting and this was not done at this vineyard where the vines are fairly old.  There is no process to then harvest those grapes left on the vine by hand.  That would not be cost efficient, given the shortage in labor and the cost of labor.