Oxney Organic Wine estate is one of the largest single estate producers of English organic wine. Nestled in the East Sussex countryside, the Soil Association certified vineyard sits on well-draining sand and silt loam, teeming with the microbial life essential for organic grape growing. The team at Oxney is exceptional and really know how to produce top class English wine, with their 2019 Classic Sparkling winning Silver at the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards.
In June Oxney, expanded their fleet of machinery to include a new Provitis PA 5000 lifting and tying machine. Provitis machinery is based around a common central mast that attaches to the front of the tractor. This is a universal mast that all Provitis equipment is mounted on. So, if you already own any other Provitis equipment, be it a trimmer, leaf stripper, leaf remover, trunk cleaner, pre-pruner or a vine shoot extractor, you only need one mast to mount all the attachments.
As the growing season unfolds, managing vine growth becomes essential, particularly to prevent vines from sprawling out into the alley. Traditional methods are both time-consuming and labour-intensive, and with labour costs being one of the biggest expenses to a vineyard, and still increasing, Provitis have stepped up with a viable alternative. The PA 5000 lifting and tying machine offers a modern solution, weighing in at only 180kg, it features two hydraulically wide-driven belts on either side of the canopy. As the tractor moves forward, these belts gently lift the vine growth into an upright position with just the right amount of force to not cause any damage. The machine is set up in the factory, however there are numerous adjustments that can be made as not all vineyards are the same.
As the machine moves down the row it dispenses strings on either side to secure the growth in place. The operator simply presses a button every couple of metres, which drives a staple to fasten the two strings together securely, with a tractor driver and assistant covering up to five hectares per day given the right conditions.
Typically, lifting and tying is performed twice during the season at the same height as the traditional parallel wires. Notably, with the Provitis PA 5000, there’s no need for double parallel wires. If your vineyard already has them in place, you can leave them as they are.
