Vineyards impose hand picking

OWNERS of five Burgundy grand cru vineyards, including Romanée-Conti, have won a bid for the appellation d’origine contrôlée rules to be changed, making hand picking obligatory.

This is part of a push by professional body l’Union des Grands Crus de Bourgogne, to stamp out any use of machines, which it deems not sufficiently traditional for such a high quality product.