Narrator: INCREDIBLY,
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DRYING GRAPES
TO TURN THEM INTO RAISINS
FOR 2,000 YEARS.
TODAY, THERE ARE POTATO CHIPS
AND CHOCOLATE BARS,
BUT PEOPLE ARE STILL SNACKING
ON RAISINS.
PRESERVED AND SWEETENED
BY THE DRYING PROCESS,
THEY CAN STILL BE ENJOYED
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.
2,000 YEARS
ON THE SNACK CIRCUIT,
AND RAISINS STILL GET
PLENTY OF NIBBLES.
THEY'RE ALSO
A POPULAR INGREDIENT
IN BAKED GOODS, CEREALS,
AND SALADS.
AT THIS CALIFORNIA VINEYARD,
THEY PLANT GRAPEVINE CUTTINGS
IN LATE WINTER.
THEY'RE THE SEEDLESS KIND.
THESE CUTTINGS TAKE THREE
YEARS
TO GROW AND BEAR FRUIT.
EACH WINTER,
THEY PRUNE THE VINES,
CUTTING AWAY WEAKER CANES
AND DEAD WOOD.
PRUNING REDUCES
THE NUMBER OF BUDS.
SO THE PLANT'S ENERGY
GOES TO THE ONES THAT REMAIN,
RESULTING
IN LARGER FRUIT CLUSTERS.
THEY TWIST THE REMAINING
CHUTES
AROUND AN OVERHEAD WIRE
TRELLIS
AND TIE THEM TO IT.
GRAPEVINES ARE NATURAL
CLIMBERS.
SECURING THEM TO THE TRELLIS
POSITIONS THEM TO GROW IN AN
ARC
FOR MAXIMUM SUN EXPOSURE.
THEY PIPE WATER
BETWEEN THE ROWS.
IT POOLS THERE
AND SEEPS INTO THE SOIL
AND DOWN TO THE ROOTS
OF THE VINES.
THESE PARTICULAR VINES ARE
GROWING ON T-SHAPED TRELLISES.
IT'S AN OLDER STYLE OF
TRELLIS.
WHEN THE GRAPES RIPEN,
THEY CUT THE CANES.
THE FRUIT CONTINUES TO HANG
THERE AND IT DRIES ON THE
VINES.
AFTER 6 TO 8 WEEKS, THE GRAPES
SHRIVEL UP AND BECOME RAISINS.
A HARVESTER WITH COMB-LIKE
TEETH
SHAKES THE RAISINS
FROM THE VINES.
THEY FALL ONTO A CONVEYER,
AND A VACUUM PULLS OUT LEAVES
AND THEN SHOOTS THE RAISINS
INTO BINS.
ON THIS PARTICULAR HARVESTER,
THE CONVEYER AND THE BINS
ARE ON BOARD.
THE T-TRELLISES REQUIRE
A DIFFERENT HARVESTING SYSTEM,
AND THE BINS ARE OUTSIDE
IN THE NEXT ROW.
ONCE FULL,
A LOADER RETRIEVES THE BIN,
AND THEN IT'S ON ITS WAY
TO THE PACKING PLANT.
UPON ARRIVAL, THESE RAISINS
UNDERGO EXTENSIVE SCRUTINY.
AN INSPECTOR FROM THE U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
LOOKS FOR DEFECTS AS THE
RAISINS
BOUNCE BY ON A SHAKER
CONVEYER.
TECHNICIANS ALSO TEST
THE MOISTURE CONTENT AND
GENERAL QUALITY OF THE FRUIT.
A VACUUM
REMOVES TWIGS AND STEMS.
THEY'RE LIGHTER THAN THE
RAISINS
AND SO THEY
CAN BE EASILY PULLED OUT.
HERE'S A SAMPLE OF THE RAISINS
AS THEY ARRIVE FROM THE FIELD.
AND HERE THEY ARE
WITH THE PLANT DEBRIS REMOVED.
THEY OFTEN STORE THE RAISINS
FOR
WEEKS BEFORE FURTHER
PRODUCTION.
AND DURING THIS TIME,
THE RAISINS STICK TOGETHER
AND FORM CLUMPS.
A REVOLVING WHEEL WITH PADDLES
NOW BREAKS UP THE CLUMPS
AND SEPARATES THE RAISINS.
THEY TUMBLE OFF THE CONVEYER
AND
ONTO A PERFORATED SHAKER
TABLE.
THIS SEPARATES ANY RAISINS
WHICH
MAY STILL BE CLINGING
TOGETHER.
SOME CAP STEMS REMAIN.
THESE BITS LINK THE GRAPES
TO THE VINE STEMS.
THE RAISINS NOW FLOW
INTO CONE-SHAPED MACHINES
THAT SPIN THEM
TO KNOCK OFF THE CAP STEMS
WITHOUT DAMAGING THE RAISINS.
ONCE THE RAISINS
HAVE BEEN SORTED BY SIZE,
THEY TRAVEL UNDER SPRAYERS
FOR A RINSE,
WASH, AND THEN ANOTHER RINSE.
THEY CRUISE BY A LASER
THAT DETECTS
ANY MISSED CAP STEMS
OR PLANT MATERIAL.
A BLAST OF AIR
THEN GETS RID OF THEM.
NEXT, THE RAISINS GO
INTO AN INSPECTION STATION
AND A WORKER PICKS OUT
ANY MATERIAL THAT MAY HAVE
BEEN
MISSED BY THE LASER.
WITH HER APPROVAL, THE RAISINS
ARE READY FOR PACKAGING.
SUCTIONING DEVICES GRAB
AND UNFOLD SNACK-SIZED BOXES
AND PLACE THEM, LID UP,
ON A HIGH-SPEED CONVEYER OR.
RAISINS SPILL
INTO THE OPEN SNACK BOXES,
AND IT'S ALL A BLUR.
THEY FILL 30,000 SNACK BOXES
AN HOUR AT THIS FACILITY.
IT TAKES ABOUT A YEAR TO GROW
AND DRY THESE RAISINS
AND JUST MINUTES
TO PACKAGE THEM.
STORED IN A COOL, DRY PLACE,
THEY WILL LAST A YEAR --
UNLESS SOMEONE EATS THEM
FIRST.
