Rathfinny Wine Estate has reported an outstanding 2025 harvest, introducing a new grape-picking system and deploying trained falcons to protect fruit in place of plastic netting.
Falcons replace plastic netting
Rathfinny Wine Estate in East Sussex has hailed its 2025 harvest as one of its best yet, crediting ideal ripening conditions and a series of new sustainability initiatives – including the use of falcons to protect fruit from birds.
For the first time, trained falcons, hawks and a Chilean Blue Eagle were deployed from dawn to dusk across the estate during the final weeks before harvest. The birds of prey successfully deterred pigeons, crows and seagulls without the need for plastic netting – a move that supports Rathfinny’s B Corp commitments.
The falconry initiative replaces 300 kilometres of netting previously used to protect vines, which needed to be replaced every five years. According to the estate, the eco-friendly system proved “highly effective” and aligned with its ongoing sustainability goals.
New picking system boosts efficiency
This year, Rathfinny introduced a new grape-picking system with the aim of improving efficiency and reducing tractor miles. The main change is the use of “bucket runners” who consolidate the pickers’ buckets and then pass them into rows for waiting tractors. Each row of vines requires a team of eight pickers, with a bucket runner per-team.
Each row of vines involves around sixteen pickers, supported by two bucket runners, working in tandem. The approach helped maintain a fast pace and high morale among the 100-strong local Sussex workforce.
Local resident Darren Evans, a Seaford-based fitness enthusiast who joined the team, wrote about the experience in a Rathfinny blog, describing the camaraderie and energy during harvest.
