10. Viticulture Scenarios

Question 1

Priorat, Catalunya

Answer 1

• located in NE Spain
• hot, dry summers and cold winters
• best vineyards planted on slopes facing NE
• irrigation not permitted (vines struggle to obtain water)
• soils are stony slate and quartz
• individual vines are small so there are limited training/pruning options
• lots of old vines = low yields
• Garnacha and Carinena are most common (late ripening and drought tolerant)
• all the work in vineyard must be done by hand (rugged terrain)
• wines from here are expensive and premium

Question 2

Paulliac, Bordeaux

Answer 2

• located in SW France near Atlantic Ocean (moderates climate)
• moderate summers and mild winters, rainfall throughout year
• soils are free-draining and poor in nutrients
• CS is main variety (medium-late ripening, can be blended with Merlot)
• vines typically trellised VSP (means procedures can be done by machine)
• vines planted at high density
• rainfall is high enough for vine competition not to be a problem
• land is expensive maximizing yield per hectare makes economic sense

Question 3

Finger Lakes, NY State

Answer 3

• deep lakes provide moderation of temperatures but winters are extremely cold
• black varieties are grown on land nearest lakes
• main variety is Riesling – winter hardy, late budding
• vines are vigorous due to nutrient rich soil and rainfall
• Scott-Henry trellising systems used to divide vine canopies
• fungal diseases can be a problem
• vine densities are low, yields are 50-60 hl/ha

Question 4

Central Valley, California

Answer 4

• area known for large volume, inexpensive wines
• located inland, has warm, dry, sunny growing season
• limited rainfall but irrigation permitted
• low planting density big, high-yielding vines (because they’re expensive)
• “California Sprawl” trellising used (vines trained high, summer pruning not done, green harvesting not done – all too expensive)