"It’s the best time to see the whole grape-growing industry together," says Larry Levine, of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission," and a time to praise the skills of vineyard employees." Pruning is a job, he said, that can’t be done by a machine—one of the last of those that must be done by skilled human hands.

On pruning contest day, the fields at Shone Farm at Santa Rosa Junior College are crowded with winemakers, locals with their kids, and the two finalists from each of the county’s five regions. The parked vehicles are trucks, everyone is in work boots, guys in "Vinepro" jackets give instructions and a lot of people have shears hanging off their work pants.

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By Jamie Stringfellow for PeterGreenberg.com