GRAPE GRO WING
to mechanizing can arise if a grower has to contend with rot or other crop prob- lems. "At some point you have to accept a hand crew going through and selecting out clusters or sending a machine through that picks everything," said Dr. James Wolpert, viticulture and extension specialist for the University of California, Davis. The challenge of mechanically harvesting fruit infected with Botrytis has been one of the reasons that the method has not caught on in Oregon, said Kevin Chambers, chief marketing officer for Oregon Vineyard Sup- ply, which includes the vineyard manage- ment company Results Partners. He added that grower concerns for quality also have limited the spread of mechanical harvesting. "First off, most of Oregon's produc-
tion is focused on the highest quality portion of the production spectrum. In that vein, mechanically harvested fruit has always been viewed as suspect. Some larger growers (or) wineries have moved in that direction to reduce costs, but they find that the machines aren't used enough to amortize the cost, so the sav- ings are suspect."
Chambers also observed that many of the state's vineyards are located on steep hillsides and were established with trel-
COMPANY Accurate Forklift Inc.
American Grape Harvesters Central Valley Builders Supply Euro-Machines Inc. Gregoire Group USA H & W Equipment
Lakeview Vineyard Equipment Ogletree's Metal Fabrication Orchard Valley Supply Inc. OXBO International Corp.
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Pellenc America Inc.
S & H Farm and Vineyard Supply Spec Trellising
Western Square Industries Inc.
Harvesting Equipment Suppliers PHONE
(707) 585-FORK (559) 277-7380 (707) 963-3622 (707) 864-5800 (805) 458-2863 (905) 468-5016 (905) 646-8085 (707) 963-3537 (888) 755-0098 (360) 354-1500 (415) 973-5085 (707) 568-7286 (336) 679-6244 (800) 237-4594 (800) 367-8383
WEBSITE
accurateforklift.com aghinc.com
cvbsupply.com
euromachinesusa.com gregoiregroup.com
vineyardmachines.com
lakeviewvineyardequipment.com ogletreecorp.com
orchardvalleysupply.com oxbocorp.com pge.com
pellencus.com
sandhfarmandvineyardsupply.com spectrellising.com westernsquare.com
For more on harvesting equipment suppliers, see Wines & Vines' 2012 Buyer's Guide in print or online at winesandvinesbuyersguide.com.
lising that makes mechanized harvesting difficult. "I do think there will be a place for mechanical harvesting in Oregon, but it needs to be planned from the start."
Big initial costs New machines can cost around $350,000,
and even used machines can fetch prices of $100,000. Wolpert, the UC exten- sion viticulturist, said that demand could outstrip the supply of available machines. The benefit of quicker mechanized har- vesting is obviously lost when a machine can't get to your vineyard in time. How
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417-741-1230 • info@powerflexfence.com Wines & Vines MARCH 2012 37
