Pellenc is a grape idea

A COLBINABBIN grape grower is the first Victorian buy Pellenc's latest self-propelled grape harvester.

It's a big step for a farmer to make the move from having a crop contract harvested to buying his own machinery.

But for grape grower Bryan Ellis, of Ellis Farms, making an investment of several hundred thousand dollars for a new self-propelled machine was all about staying ahead of the pack.

Bryan has 53ha of vines at Colbinabbin and has just taken delivery of a Pellenc 8590 self-propelled harvester.

"We reckon we produce world-class grapes here and we need the equipment to match that quality and ensure we are getting the best from the vines," Bryan said.

"With the Pellenc harvester and its ability to produce a very clean product by removing most of the Matter Other than Grape, we will be able to achieve that bit of extra quality which will keep our winemakers happy."

Most of Bryan's shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and viognier grapes are sold under contract to winemakers including Taltarni and the Heathcote Winery.

He said providing the wineries with the best-quality grapes was paramount.

"We strive for excellence and once our product arrives at the winemakers clean as a whistle, they will be pleasantly surprised," he said.

"Buying the harvester was a big investment but it will pay us back in years to come.

"By removing most of the MOG at harvest we dramatically reduce any green taint, which means a much better product for the winemaker to handle and better-tasting wine in the bottle."

The Pellenc 8590 has new features to ensure the grapes are picked gently with as much MOG removed as possible.

The idea behind the 8590 is to produce grapes of hand-picked quality by mechanical means.

The key to providing such a clean harvest on the Pellenc is the Selectiv' Process on-board sorting system.

The system is an optional extra on the Pellenc 8590 and 8490 models and has two main components; a high-frequency de-stemmer and on-board sorting table.

It's the de-stemmer's job to gently remove the grapes from the whole bunches, which it does by vibrating at frequencies of up to 1100 movements a minute.

Pellenc Australia managing director Louise Fraser said the de-stemmer resonated the grapes from the stalk.

"Unlike rotary de-stemmers, the Pellenc de-stemmer leaves the bunch stalks intact and minimises damage to the grapes," Louise said.

"That avoids small stalk fragments being created which are difficult to remove from the grapes."

The loose grapes processed by the de-stemmer are then moved to the sorting table which has two sets of rollers.

The rollers move the grapes and MOG towards the outer edge of the harvester's bins.

The first set of rollers aligns the bunch stalks and MOG so it is at right angles to the direction of the harvester.

The second set of rollers allows the grapes to fall through to the bin but moves the MOG off the side of the harvester and on to the ground.

Louise said overseas tests had shown the Selectiv' Process could successfully remove 90 per cent of the petioles (stems) from the grapes.

"Conventional harvesters will only remove about 56 per cent, so the grapes are much cleaner for post-harvest handling," Louise said.

"And as the grapes fall into bins, which are located on either side of the harvester, there is no need for tractors and mobile field bins to follow the harvester up and down the vineyard rows."

The 8590 has multi-function capabilities thanks to a modular design on the rear of the chassis.

Louise said the harvester could also be used as a sprayer and mower.

"The whole rear-end of the harvester is a modular system so the harvesting system is easily removed and can be replaced by a spray unit or twin mowers," she said.

"Plus there is a large hydraulically controlled arm at the front of the harvester which can be used to attach implements such as vine trimmers and pruners."

Once a modular system is placed on the harvester, the operator inputs which implement is being used into an on-board controller and the 8590 will select the appropriate hydraulic rates.

Ellis Farms' vineyard manager, Barney Tuohey, said driving and operating the Pellenc harvester was daunting at first.

"I have driven tomato and grain harvesters and once you are used to the hydrostatic controls in the Pellenc and being able to fine tune all its functions, it's quite OK to drive," Barney said.