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Successful vineyard mechanization relies on carefully trellised and maintained, uniform vineyards. Studies on mechanization have detailed the effects of such variables as grape variety, training systems, pruning, shoot positioning and thinning.

Harvesting of grapes also requires intensive hand labor, and mechanized harvesters have been adapted for most varieties of grapes including muscadines. The effects of time and temperature at harvest and during storage and the use of SO2 on mechanically harvested grapes were studied. Other information regarding economics of mechanization was also analyzed.

The Morris-Oldridge system of total vineyard mechanization has been extensively tested in Arkansas, California and New York vineyards. Recently, the Eastern Viticultural Consortium and Cornell University have supported this research. The University of Arkansas now has a patent on 12 mechanized systems for grape production that are adaptable to most grape cultivars.

Mechanized systems also have been developed for other small fruits such as blackberries and strawberries.

Muscadine Grapes

Muscadines are a grape species native to the South. They are highly perishable, lack uniform ripening and are difficult to transport. These difficulties have been addressed by research efforts at the University of Arkansas. Density sorting techniques, the development of harvest standards (with the aid of a newly developed color chart) and recommendations for post harvest handling techniques have helped increase the marketability of fresh muscadines. Research has also examined the use of muscadine juices and wine.

Table and Juice Grapes

Expanding markets or identifying new markets for table and juice grapes is of particular interest to the grape industry in Arkansas. A number of alternatives to meeting this need have been addressed by the UA Enology and Viticulture Program.

The popularity of juice blends prompted a study of the acceptability of blueberry and cranberry juices blended with Venus and Concord grape juices. The economic benefits of producing juices in small- to medium-sized wineries also were analyzed. The effects of several preharvest factors on yield and quality of Niagara, a popular juice grape variety, were studied. Juice comparison studies found table and wine grapes suitable for use as grape juice. A more detailed study outlined processing methods for wine grape juice. Other processing studies looked at the use of antimicrobial agents and yeast growth regulators in Venus and Concord grape juices.

Fermented beverages have been preferred over water throughout the ages: they are safer, provide psychotropic effects, and are more nutritious. Some have even said alcohol was the primary agent for the development of Western civilization, since more healthy individuals (even if inebriated much of the time) lived longer and had greater reproductive success. When humans became "civilized," fermented beverages were right at the top of the list for other reasons as well: conspicuous display (the earliest Neolithic wine, which might be dubbed "Chateau Hajji Firuz," was like showing off a bottle of Pétrus today); a social lubricant (early cities were even more congested than those of today); economy (the grapevine and wine tend to take over cultures, whether Greece, Italy, Spain, or California); trade and cross-cultural interactions (special wine-drinking ceremonies and drinking vessels set the stage for the broader exchange of ideas and technologies between cultures); and religion (wine is right at the center of Christianity and Judaism; Islam also had its "Bacchic" poets like Omar Khayyam).