Last week we endured the worst heat wave since I moved here in 2005. We were warmer than Palm Springs, Phoenix or Las Vegas for much of the week.
Yesterday, after giving both vineyards three days to show the effects of the heat, I gave them a visit to see how Moulds and Houyi came through. It also gave me a chance to assess how the fruit is developing and predict when I might pick.
I increasingly realize these videos are more like podcasts than blogs. This one clocks in at 23 minutes but it covers a lot of ground. Hopefully you find time to take a look!
The optical sorter replaces one, maybe two, unskilled positions. It’s also another piece of equipment to clean, and to clean it properly (depending on which model you have) can take several hours, maybe negating any job loss.
The article Michael linked mentions 2 tons in 12 minutes, the work of 15 people sorting for an hour. A lot more than 1 or 2 workers, but perhaps the numbers vary greatly depending on the size of the crop, making it cost-effective only for larger wineries?
Here’s a big philosophical question though: how ‘representative of what the vineyard provides’ do you end up capturing when you use something like an optical sorter? We want to talk about terroir . . .
Is an optical sorter functionality different than DRC having a small army of hand sorters?
I do see the point. Sometimes things can be “too clean”. First meal on my last propane grill was filets (wife wanted them) tasted like they were cooked in an oven. Next day cooked 2 dozen chicken wings, haven’t had that problem since.
Roy, if you see this, thanks again for an exceptional and very educational video. I’m glad to see your blocks are more resilient than I would have expected!
And I’m not subscribing to this thread while you guys circle jerk on optical sorters.
I imagine that for a dedicated, conscientious employee, with an IQ in the 90s, or high 80s, something like working the sorting table for a high-end boutique winery could provide an enormous amount of satisfaction & fulfillment & sense of purpose in life.
But if the A.I. has advanced to the point that it can be trusted with sorting for a $150 to $300 Cal-Cab, then it won’t be but another five or ten years until just about 100% of all vineyard management [year-round] will be performed by small armies of solar-powered spider-bots, crawling up and down the rows, from sunrise to sunset [and maybe all night, if the battery technology improves].