Harvest machinery

Since the 1970s, the mechanisation of grape harvesting has grown steadily. Harvesting machines have become an indispensable part of the winegrowing landscape, offering flexibility in the harvesting schedule and considerably reducing labour costs. Their ongoing development has been supported by regular technical improvements, enabling very satisfactory levels of quality to be achieved, comparable to those of manual harvesting.

Modern harvesting machines consist of a chassis for traction and transport, and a harvesting head. The chassis can be either self-propelled or towed. The harvesting head is equipped with lateral shaking systems that transmit sufficient energy to the vines to detach the berries from their pedicels. The grapes are then picked up by conveyor belts or norias of flexible buckets, which transport the berries to skips.

One of the key features of today's harvesting machines is the integration of an on-board grape separator and sorter. This equipment separates the grapes from the stalks and eliminates impurities directly during harvesting. This helps to improve the quality of the final product by reducing the presence of undesirable elements such as leaves and plant debris.

The quality of the harvest obtained with a grape harvester depends to a large extent on how it is set up and used. Shaking parameters such as frequency, amplitude and pinch must be adjusted to suit the characteristics of the vine and grapes. In addition, the preparation of the vines prior to harvesting and the organisation of reception at the winery are essential to guarantee a high-quality harvest.
In conclusion, harvesting machines represent a major technological advance for the wine sector. Over 60% of French vineyards are now mechanised, with machines developed by world-renowned manufacturers. Despite these technical advances, mastery of settings and good preparation are still essential if you are to make the most of this equipment.