Welcome to the new WineTech monthly where I give you key updates that matter to the industry and highlight upcoming events that I think will provide you with value. Let me know if this is valuable to you, how I can make it better, and do share any updates or events that I should feature in next month’s edition.
This month’s developments point to a common theme - agricultural technology is moving beyond just simple data collection towards systems that can autonomously detect problems and intervene. Viticulture is proving a particularly useful test environment, with developments in robotics, sensing and precision application technology increasingly reaching commercial vineyards.
Industry updates
Autonomous UV robots target vineyard disease
Saga Robotics’ Thorvald autonomous vineyard robot is being deployed in California to control powdery mildew using UV-C light rather than conventional fungicides. Walsh Vineyard Management is testing the technology across operations covering around 4,500 acres. The platform operates through vineyard rows and exposes vines to ultraviolet light that disrupts fungal development.
The deployment is a useful example of vineyard robotics moving beyond monitoring and mapping into direct intervention, with the potential to reduce labour requirements, chemical inputs and tractor movements. One remaining constraint is regulatory. California currently requires human supervision of autonomous agricultural machinery, limiting some of the economic benefits of fully autonomous operation.
Read the full article – San Francisco Chronicle
Saga Robotics – Thorvald for vineyards
Hyperspectral imaging detects grape disease before symptoms appear
Researchers at Cornell University have developed HyperBird, an imaging platform capable of detecting grape diseases including powdery and downy mildew several days before visible symptoms develop.
The system uses hyperspectral imaging to identify subtle changes in plant characteristics associated with infection. Earlier detection could allow growers to intervene more selectively, while also helping plant breeders identify disease-resistant varieties more rapidly. In practical terms, this brings vineyards closer to a model where sensing, diagnosis and treatment can increasingly be linked together.
£20m UK funding competition targets agricultural robotics
The UK government, through Innovate UK and Defra, has opened a £20 million funding competition focused on agricultural robotics and automation.
Relevant technologies include autonomous systems, crop monitoring and precision agriculture. Applications close on 30 September 2026 (be quick! I may be able to help you with your application so do reach out). The competition reflects a wider shift in public funding towards deployable automation and integrated systems rather than standalone sensing technologies.
Government announcement – GOV.UK
Competition details and application – Innovate UK
England’s extreme summer brings an unusually early grape harvest
England’s record-breaking summer has accelerated grape development, with Nyetimber beginning its 2026 harvest on 14 September, its earliest harvest to date.
Higher temperatures and sunshine have accelerated ripening, although drought has reduced berry size and late spring frosts affected some vines. Nyetimber expects the harvest could ultimately produce around 1.5 million bottles of sparkling wine.
The changing growing season is likely to increase the value of vineyard sensing, irrigation optimisation, phenological modelling and predictive harvest tools as growers adapt to greater climatic variability.
Precision spraying continues its transition towards real-time control
UK company Cordon Technologies is developing its Loop precision spraying technology, which dynamically manages agricultural treatments during application rather than relying on conventional tank mixing.
The company says its Loop and Cortex systems can reduce spraying time and chemical inputs and are already being used in vineyards. The development is notable because precision application is moving beyond controlling where chemicals are applied towards controlling application itself in much greater detail, opening the possibility of tighter integration with disease maps and crop sensing.
Upcoming events
22–23 September: World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, London
The World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit takes place at the InterContinental London – The O2. More than 800 participants are expected, including start-ups, investors and technology leaders, with the programme covering agricultural robotics, AI, biologicals, resource efficiency and resilient food systems.
World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit
12–16 October: 47th World Congress of Vine and Wine, Ningxia, China
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine will hold its 47th World Congress in Yinchuan. Technical sessions cover resilient and sustainable viticulture, future oenology, economic and regulatory models, and wine safety and health.
Congress information and registration – OIV
20 October: Sustainability in Drinks 2026, London
Taking place at Christ Church Spitalfields, the event will include dedicated sessions on regenerative viticulture, including the relationship between regenerative farming and wine quality. The Regenerative Viticulture Foundation will also introduce its Regenerative Buying Accelerator Pledge, supporting an ambition for 10% of the world’s vineyards to be farmed regeneratively by 2035.
Sustainability in Drinks 2026
2026 programme
26 October: WineAI Forum 2026, Conegliano, Italy
WineAI Forum will focus specifically on artificial intelligence and advanced digitalisation across the wine value chain. Topics include precision viticulture, predictive models, data management, winemaking processes, sensory analysis, consumer behaviour and the regulatory implications of AI.