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The Corona pandemic is increasingly driving the wine industry into automation. Covid-19-related travel restrictions led to a severe labour shortage from Eastern Europe and North Africa last year, which was a major problem for many wineries. According to research by the Wall Street Journal, many winemakers in Italy and Spain have bought harvesters to be better prepared for the grape harvest this year.
Philippe Astoin, head of the agricultural division of the French manufacturer Pellenc, explained that demand for automated grape harvesters had increased by five to ten per cent annually before the pandemic, but had increased by around 20 per cent this year. This, he said, is a structural change in the wine sector that will outlast the pandemic and could change long-standing migration patterns. Every year, tens of thousands of foreign workers come to Italy, France and Spain for the harvests. While the harvesting of some crops, such as soybeans and maize, is already largely automated, it has taken vintners a little longer to make the switch. On the one hand, many producers are concerned that the quality of the grapes could suffer, on the other hand, the high costs have also deterred smaller businesses.
In some European appellations, such as Champagne or Franciacorta, mechanical grape harvesting is prohibited. In France, agriculture is less dependent on foreign labour than in Italy or Spain. Therefore, the pressure for mechanisation is less high there.
(ru / Source: Wall Street Journal; Photo: pixabay)