🍷 Vineyard tractor driver

A vineyard tractor driver is a worker who drives a narrow tractor between the rows of vines. The machine is adapted to tight alleys and must not damage the plants.

Vineyard tractors are made narrow, and sometimes tall so they straddle the rows. The driver does many jobs. He sprays the vines against disease, mows grass between rows, tills the soil, spreads fertiliser, and carries crates of grapes at harvest. The work calls for care: the machine must be driven straight a few centimetres from the vines without catching wires and posts. Sometimes on slopes the tractor has to be driven at a tilt.

Such a worker is an important part of an estate's team. He is tied to the inter-row, the strip of ground between the rows of vines. On small estates the grower does this work himself; on large ones it is a separate specialist. Machinery cannot be used everywhere: on steep terraces everything is done by hand. The driver needs to know the calendar of vineyard work, since timely treatment decides the health of the vines and the quality of the crop.