Overview
ISO 5704:1980 - Equipment for vine cultivation and wine making - Grape‑harvesting machinery - Test methods specifies standardized test procedures for machines that perform grape‑harvesting operations when grapes are destined for winemaking or other beverage production. The standard defines how to measure machine performance, work quality and resulting oenological effects, and it prescribes the content and format of test documentation (forms and annexes).
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and objective: Evaluate mechanical grape‑harvesting machines for performance, operating time, effects on vine health, visible losses and quality of grapes and resulting wine.
- Test principle: Compare technological characteristics and harvested grape quality from mechanical harvests with manual harvests using both chemical and sensory analyses.
- Measurements and metrics:
- Operating times (actual, additional, idling, overall) and derived productivity metrics (speed of travel, output per unit time, overall time per area).
- Mechanical measurements: machine dimensions, mass, settings and transport configuration (forms in Annex B, C, F).
- Work quality: quantified losses (grapes remaining on vine, fallen grapes, juice loss), exfoliation score (0–5), damage counts expressed per 100 vines/ha, and mass-per‑stock calculations.
- Oenological tests: vinification of machine and manual samples with chemical/sensory analysis (alcohol, acidity, pH, SO2, phenolics, etc.) using recognized methods (OIV recommended where applicable).
- Sampling and statistics: guidance for sample size and uniformity assessment to ensure results meet confidence/precision requirements.
- Reporting: completion of prescribed annex forms (A: procedure summary; B–L: machine description, settings, plots, transport, work quality, losses, sample determination, vinification and general report) and presentation of results in SI units.
Practical applications and users
ISO 5704:1980 is intended for:
- Agricultural machinery test laboratories and certification bodies assessing grape‑harvesting machines.
- Manufacturers of grape‑harvesting equipment for performance validation and product documentation.
- Vineyard managers and enologists seeking objective data on mechanical harvesting effects on yield and wine quality.
- Research institutions studying harvest mechanization, vineyard management and post‑harvest consequences.
Benefits include consistent performance comparisons, documented evidence for purchasing or regulatory decisions, and guidance to minimize vine damage and product loss during mechanized harvests.
Related standards
- Developed under ISO/TC 23 (Tractors and machinery for agriculture and forestry); users should also consult other ISO and industry standards on agricultural machinery safety, measurement units (SI) and recognized oenological methods (e.g., OIV protocols) for complementary requirements.