Mechanisastion in Napa vineyards increasing as labour costs increase

Mechanisation in the vineyards of Napa Valley is happening apace, a gathering of wine industry professionals heard earlier this week.  

This has largely been spurred on by the dearth of available workers, meaning vineyards are increasingly turning towards machines to replace humans for various agricultural jobs, as well as the increasing cost of wages.  

“Most of our contracts that we are doing now, we are trying to make sure growers can machine pick,” Matt Heil, director of fruit supply at Copper Cane Wine & Provisions in Napa Valley told delegates at the 24th annual Vineyard Economics Symposium.  

His company uses machines in up to 90% of grape picking in the North and Central coasts with hand-picking saved for when it is absolutely necessary.  

“The quality is there and (human) labour is just going to be really difficult,” Heil said at the event.  

Winemakers in Sonoma and Napa have been using machines to harvest grapes for around 30 years, and as technology gets better they are being used for other routine vineyard duties such as pruning, shoot thinning and leafing. Over the same period, winemakers worries about machines damaging the grapes has quelled.  

The results of a survey of 250 wine company executives released at the symposium found that the labour shortage and associated costs was their biggest concern, as nearly three quarters - 71% -   of the respondents highlighted that issue as one of their top concerns.  

Producers have been frustrated that immigration reform efforts have failed in Congress to provide relief, though some locally have used the federal H-2A visa program to bring in seasonal workers from Mexico.  

But even locals are finding it hard to work in Sonoma and Napa, with housing costs pricing out many. This is despite the fat that the average field worker earns between $18 and $20 an hour, according to Towle Merritt, general manager of Walsh Vineyard Management in Napa.   He said many workers were choosing to live in Williams in Colusa County, despite earning less because rental cost is half the price compared to local rents.  

Meanwhile, a study by Gallo has shown that mechanization is cheaper than manual labour, after the upfront investment costs have been accounted for. It revealed that machines can do vineyard leafing duties for up to 21 cents less per vine compared to hand crews.