Tools of the Trade – The Forklift

No tool of the winery is more overlooked or under appreciated than the forklift.  And yet is a hugely important part of winemaking – from unloading freshly harvested grape bins off of the delivery truck, to dumping whole cluster Chardonnay into awaiting presses, to lifting tanks of fermenting Pinot Noir to be drained via gravity, the forklift does it all.  In addition, every winemaker I know prides him or herself on their forklift skills, and is not afraid to brag about them.  I used to work for a cellar master who boasted of being able to pick up a quarter with just the tip of the forks.  How you ask?  I don’t know, he wouldn’t show me.