The left picture is of Chardonnay grapes that are ready to head to the press pad for the first step in the wine making process. In the field we use a hopper and conveyor to load the grapes from the 30# “lugs” into the approximately 1600# macro bins. We hand pick our grapes so the pickers leave the lugs under the trellis and we come through and empty them into the hopper that connects to the conveyor which drops the grapes into the macro bin while the tractor is moving, which helps speed up the process.
Hand harvesting is a long process and can take an experienced picker up to 3 hours to complete a full row, depending on crop load. So far this season we have harvested the Pinot Gris, Sauv Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with the Lemberger being picked this week.