Pellenc 4560 Grape Harvester
I posted last week on Facebook that John and the boys were in California looking at a harvester – a Pellenc 4560 grape harvester.
Well, not only did they look at it, but also bought it! Then the question was whether or not it could be shipped here to West Texas in time for our first harvest.
The question is now answered! It is here and in time for our first harvest! Our anxieties were alleviated, our expectations and excitement were realized, as we saw the trucker coming down the road hauling our “new” Pellenc 4560 grape harvester! Please notice, we got the “Smart” Pellenc 🙂
There is one custom harvester who comes to our area for a specific length of time to harvest grapes before moving to another area – he even harvests olives in other areas. But, he has already left our area this year and for those of us who have late ripening varieties, he is not an option. So, in years past, we have rented a harvester from another grape growing friend who lives close by. This year, however, his harvester broke. It showed everyone here on the high plains how dependent we all are on so few harvesters. After much discussion, we decided to put the money we would normally use for renting the harvester toward the purchase of one!
We have been talking with a Pellenc representative for quite awhile about used harvesters that he knew were for sale. In fact, our oldest son has kept in close contact with him and was notified of good machines as they became available. Every time it looked as though we had a buyer for our house in Alabama, we would talk more seriously with him. Then, when the house did not sell, we would wait. We have had such a good experience with the Pellenc AP25 which we have been using this year to tie the vine arms onto to the cordon wire and the harvester seemed to be equally well designed as a multi-function machine.
As you can see, it was transported well secured.
The most nerve racking part of the unloading was driving it off the trailer.
As a multi-function machine, we also purchased a prepruner which will be used in the winter. The vines will be pruned first with the Pellenc and then we will come back and hand prune to the exact number of buds to be left. This helps rid the vine row of all the dead wood and makes our job easier.
The last accessory that we purchased is the counter weight which is used in conjunction with the prepruner.
Although it looks like we will not start harvesting our Roussanne until mid September, we have already been contracted by other vineyards and will get to put the Pellenc into action early Saturday morning!
Wow.. that is one impressive piece of machinery. Best of luck to you all!
We are a winery in Quebec Canada which we are looking for a used harvester and
we saw your comments on a pellenc 4560 we are also interested in this type of
harvester and we would like to get some information from you since you have bought
the same type of machine and some advise us that it is too complicated for our use
and they discourage us and tell us because it is too electronically and it is better for
us to buy one that is a toll by the tractor. We would very much have your feed back
on the 4560.
Thank you
Lia
Lia, they are not THAT electronically advanced! The pulled by tractor Pellenc has all the electronics but are simply pulled by a tractor – you still must learn the machine. We have found Pellenc very helpful and a couple of our sons even attended their mechanics class in California since there are no service people in our area. We continue to be very impressed with Pellenc and all the attachments and would not go to another brand! Good luck and feel free to email with questions.
I have a pellenc 670 for sale
Thanks, Aaron – hope you find a buyer soon!
Hello,
Would you wish to sell your harvester?
My mom is 81 and my dad is 86, and they still work pretty regular, and we ran a dairy farm for 50 years but now we raise beef cattle, nuts and blackberries that we give much away to the neighbors and local churches.
We have acres of blackberries in rows that the locals enjoy. We hope to find wineries all across the country that want to buy our Arapaho and Osage quality berries for their blends. When we do, we will buy an Oxbo 4420 harvester so as to provide the highest quality blackberries to the wineries. With the money from the wineries, we will be able to provide fresh berries, good food, to as many as we can at a low cost and also be able to donate more to the churches. If you know of any wineries wanting blackberries in the future, we have the land to grow into providing enough for many, so feel free to pass on our info.
We appreciate any help and we are thankful.
Sincerely,
Tony
Ps
Everyone says mom makes the best fried pies. She won’t sell them, but she loves to give them away and see people happy. If you are ever in the area, please visit and sample her cooking. Thank you.
Tony
Thanks for the comment, Tony! No, we are not ready to sell it yet – sorry! Your blackberries sound wonderful and I love fried pies! We will definitely keep your place in mind – thanks for the invite!