Vineyard Work in the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Clare: Machines Between the Vines
Trellis posts, irrigation mains, replanting and winery yard work in South Australia's wine regions, and the narrow excavators and skid steers that fit the rows.
South Australia grows more wine grapes than any other state, and every one of them is on a trellis with irrigation underneath. Vineyards are a constant source of small, precise earthmoving jobs, and a tractor is the wrong tool for most of them.
Row widths and machines
Barossa and McLaren Vale rows are typically 2.75 to 3 metres apart, with the vines and posts in the middle. Clear ground is about 1 to 1.5 metres. The R13 PRO narrows to 750 mm and the R10 to 912 mm; the R15 at 890 mm works in most rows and does more on the headlands. Widen the tracks before lifting anything heavy.
Posts
Strainers and end assemblies take the load of a whole row and go in deep. An auger on the excavator drills the hole in a minute in red-brown earth and takes a little longer in Clare slate. A grab lifts the post into the hole and holds it while it is rammed. Old posts come out with the grab; roll up the wire first.
Irrigation
New mains, valve pits, sub-mains and the endless replacement of drip lines. A narrow bucket cuts a clean trench along the row; a skid steer trencher is faster on long straight runs in the Barossa's loam. Locate every existing line before the bucket goes in; a mains break at veraison is a season's worry.
Replanting
Pulling old vines is a ripper and grab job, then a skid steer log grapple to stack them. The best time is winter after pruning when the vines are dormant and the ground is moist. Rip the rows deep before replanting to break any plough pan.
Drainage and mounding
Wet feet in a Barossa winter cost vines. Spoon drains between blocks and mounding with a tilt bucket keep roots above the water.
Winery and cellar door
Bins, pallets, pomace, mulch and the cellar-door landscaping. An RS06 or RS10 skid steer with forks, a 4-in-1 bucket and a sweeper lives at the winery.
Biosecurity
South Australia is phylloxera-free and intends to stay that way. Machines moving between vineyards, and especially from interstate, are washed down and inspected. Clean tracks and buckets between blocks as a matter of course.
Heat
Vineyard work in a Barossa summer means starting at dawn, clean radiators and summer-grade hydraulic oil. The Barossa and Mid North guide covers the district; the attachment finder shows augers, grabs and trenchers by model.