WINETECH Technical Yearbook 2020

The latest developments in grape sorting technology

Grape sorting can be done manually or electronically.

combination of harvesting, destemming and sorting in a single equipment is also applied. The destemming and sorting actions both have the aim to remove contaminants from the grapes. The method of destemming determines the condition of the grapes, which will influence the ease of grape sorting.

A survey of 2016 found that 30% of Australian cellars apply some or other form of grape sorting. The manual sorting of grape bunches was the method applied most and smaller cellars have also attended more to grape sorting. Belt sorting, optical sorting and vibrating belt sorting are other sorting methods that are also applied. The

As the primary source of wine, the quality of grapes play a crucial role in winemaking. Vineyard management is its first step, but climatic factors, vine diseases and the harvest method that is used, can cause that the grape quality is not uniform when it is delivered at the cellar. Grape sorting is used to eliminate these quality differences.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

CHARL THERON: Private consultant KEYWORDS: grape sorting technology, cellar equipment

WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2020 156