Is it true that vineyards now use drones to help with making wine?
Yes, it is now quite common for grape growers to use drones in the vineyard. With thermal cameras and other devices attached, they can provide a unique view from the air that provides the producer with all sorts of information throughout the growing season and even before planting a vineyard.
Soils that look the same at ground level frequently vary greatly every few metres. Different soil depth, water-holding capacity and exposure to the sun all have an influence on the growth and health of a vine. Drones can spot differing vigour in the vineyard, helping to separate blocks of vines into parcels that receive different treatments. Drones can also spot zones with uneven growth that may be suffering from disease long before they are visible on the ground. If diseases are present, drones can be used to spray affected vines. In the past this work was done with tractors but that tended to compact the soil. Loss of vigour can also be due to water stress and indicate to the farmer that irrigation is necessary.
In the period before harvest, drones can be very useful in showing varying ripeness levels across the vineyards and allow a producer to plan different picking times for each block of vines.
Grape growers with vines on steep slopes such as German vineyards along the Rhine and other rivers can face great difficulties and high labour costs to harvest their grapes. This year for the first time, a grower in the Saar region is using a drone to carry the grapes from the slopes down to the waiting tractor on the road below. A heavy-duty drone can carry up to 40kg of grapes at a time.
Cotes Drone? Robotics are being deployed in wine production with impressive results
Maverick Languedoc wines: ‘The French AOC rules don’t suit us’
Affordable wines: a Greek bottle to bid farewell to summer and a French red to greet autumn
Bordeaux basics: four red wines that epitomise this classic region
Drones are not the only addition to the winemaker’s tools. Other new technologies being used in the vineyard include robots to prune vines, mow, plough and weed between rows of vines.
So far, the confined space of a winery means that no use has been found for a drone indoors.
Lastly, it is possible that, in the future, drones will be used to deliver wine to your doorstop. However, trials of supermarket deliveries are suspended at the moment.
