Harvest still needs hands

THERE’S more mechanical harvesting going on in Napa than people say (“In Napa, Deus ex Machina?” Sept. 19); Trefethen’s been doing it since the early ‘70s, and at St. Supéry, we’ve been doing it since the late ‘80s.

The machines have certainly gotten better -- I suspect they’d be more widely adopted if they weren’t such a major investment.

They’re very good for night harvesting in our natural refrigerator of a climate.

Nonetheless, we need to be able to hand-harvest hillside grapes (those machines are too top-heavy and tippy for slopes) and, of course, delicate wine grapes like Pinot Noir.

So machines are not the whole answer.

Maybe we’ll have to start using students and vacationers to harvest as they do in Europe. Imagine that!

Michaela Rodeno

Rodeno is chief executive officer of St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery.