These Are the Drones You're Looking For

Is spraying vineyards with unmanned aircraft the future?

In 2017, I was wined and dined by a fancy Tuscan winery who boasted about using drones to spray their biodynamic preparations. The wines were pompous oak-bombs fussed over to the nth degree. The estate’s owner, a rich industrialist, had lavished money on every aspect of the project. I was scathing in my write-up.

Perhaps I should have taken them more seriously. Drones have since entered the mainstream, and not just as a tool for despots to wage war. Might they be a better solution than driving heavy, polluting tractors through the vines? Could they sit side-by-side with the ethics of artisanal organic, biodynamic and natural growers?

Slovakian pioneer Zsolt Sütó (Strekov 1075) and Spanish lofi winemaker and grower Raúl Moreno both believe they can. Others are sceptical. Raúl invited me to come to Jerez - the region where he’s based - to judge for myself.