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58 WINES&VINES February 2017 WINERY & VINEYARD EQUIPMENT A n agile German-made harvester and a highly automated cross-flow filter from Italy won top prizes in the In- novation Awards sponsored by the German Winegrowers Association. These two gold medal winners and five silver medal winners were on display during the biennial trade show Intervitis Interfructa Hortitechnica last November in Stuttgart, Germany. An international jury made up of 30 ex- perts determined the Innovation Award win- ners as part of the technology trade fair for wine, juice and special crops, choosing from among 50 entries. "Our jury has very high standards," stated Norbert Weber, president of the German Wine- growers Association. "That's why this year the possible awarding of four gold and four silver medals was not realized." Harvester for extreme slopes Carl Hoffmann Landmaschinen from Piesport on Germany's Mosel River took gold in the category Cultivation and Harvesting Technol- ogy for developing a steep-slope harvester that can navigate the tight row spacing and severe inclines of vineyards in the Mosel and Rhine valleys or elsewhere. The manufacturer describes the compact CH 500 harvester as the first practical harvester for these extreme conditions. The continuous track harvester arrives at the top of a slope on a custom trailer, which rotates 90° to orient the harvester to head downslope between rows of vertically trellised vines. The machine is equipped with tractor treads to keep a good grip on the ground, and a har- vesting head drops down over a row of vines beside the harvester and gently shakes grapes from the stems. The harvester remains at- tached to the trailer above by a cable, powered by a winch. On less steep slopes the harvester can oper- ate under its own power. It's not a robot, how- ever; a driver sits in the narrow cab and helps to guide it. Automated cross-flow filtration The second gold medal went to the Italian company TMCI Padovan for the development of a high-performance cross-flow filter. Its high degree of control and automation reduces the number of operating personnel and minimizes the energy required to filter lees from the wine. KEY POINTS An international jury of 30 experts deter- mined the Innovation Award winners as part of the technology trade fair Intervitis Interfructa Hortitechnica. A continuous-track mechanical harvester designed for especially steep slopes won a gold medal, as did an automated, energy- saving cross-flow filtration unit. Other awards presented at the fair in Stutt- gart, Germany, were given for a new en- zyme, disc harrow, taint-free corks and other products. Judges Honor Innovation at German Trade Show Unusual harvester, improved cross-flow filtration and other advances recognized By Wines & Vines staff Carl Hoffmann's CH 500 harvester won a gold medal in the Cultivation and Harvesting Technology category.