A certain amount of tension is built into the relationship between grapegrowers and the winemakers who buy their grapes. They both want to maximize the money to be made from their collaboration. Most of the time they both want to maximize the quality of the wine they are making together, too. But these goals don’t always line up.

Winemakers are notorious for asking growers to hang their fruit longer for riper flavors and show their obedience by dropping fruit to lower their yields. This has to be agonizing for growers, especially in the traditional arrangement where wineries pay them by the ton.