Further to my despairing report (see Foster's – the case of the disappearing wine brands) on the recent activities of Foster’s Wine Group, I hear that their principal California winery Beringer, once regarded as one of the Napa Valley nobility of wine producers, is now blatantly using machines to harvest some of the valley’s finest vineyards in broad daylight. Machines have been used for night picking in California for years, especially for fruit destined for sparkling wine in which low temperatures are so crucial, but the prime sites for top quality Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon are thought to merit...