1. Anatomy of the vine

Question 1

Explain the difference between clonal selection and mass selection

Answer 1

• Clonal selection is when vines with favorable characteristics are selected by vine nurseries or grape growers for propagation.
• Mass selection requires owners to take cuttings from vines in their own vineyards and cultivate them. Cuttings are generally taken from the best-performing vines.

Question 2

What are the advantages and disadvantages of clonal selection?

Answer 2

ADV:
-The limited supply of clones means that vines planted across a vineyard or even a region can be relatively uniform, especially if natural factors are consistent across the region.
-This may have benefits if all vines grow in a similar way and ripen grapes at the same time, management of the vineyard becomes simpler.
DIS:
-Less diversity in the fruit and hence potentially producing a wine with less complexity and balance.
-Makes vineyard more susceptible to disease bc identical vines are likely to all be equally susceptible to a disease or pest.

**For these reasons, where available, a grape grower will often buy and plant a number of different clones of the same variety.