The sorting machines and sorting tables worked overtime during the 2023 harvest in France. Overall quality has been excellent and in some places this equipment is to thank for that. Dried grapes, rotten grapes, grapes attacked by downy mildew and other things have ended up in the harvest baskets. But you do not want it to end up in the yeast tank. The time-consuming sorting has paid off. (But it was far from all that had these issues with diseases.)
A manual sorting table is often used before destemming (if the grapes are harvested by hand). After de-stemming, many producers find it more efficient to use a machine. Château Bernateau in Saint Emilion has experience with both the optical sorting machine and another machine called Tribaie. The latter worked best this year, says Karine Lavau during our visit in early October.
In a Tribaie, the de-stemmed grapes are placed in water with a sugar solution of a certain density. The sorting of the grapes happens thanks to the grapes’ different sugar content. Leaves and other plant debris, dried berries and berries affected by downy mildew or rot float. The flawless, ripe berries that you want to keep fall to the bottom. A very efficient sorting. Others have used optical sorting and been very happy with it.
Below, you can watch a video showing manual and optical sorting of grapes at Chateau Phelan Segur, Bordeaux.
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Bordeaux with BKWine.
