Approaches To Grape Growing

Question 1

Conventional Viticulture

Answer 1

Aims at raising production levels and reducing labor requirements as achieved by mechanization, chemical inputs, irrigation, and clonal selection.
Monoculture
Harmful to soil quality, expensive, detrimental to environment, harmful to vineyard workers and even the consumer

Question 2

Monoculture advantages

Answer 2

Mechanized vineyard work
Reduction of other plant competitors
Ability to tend to specific needs of variety planted (irrigation, nutrition, treatments) therefore increasing yields while minimizing cost

Question 3

Monoculture disadvantages

Answer 3

Plants are more prone to disease and need more treatments because all plant material is same and allows fast spread
Nutrients can be depleted since there is no natural ecosystem to replenish- requires more fertilizer
Residual chemicals from treatments poison groundwater and cause environmental damage

Question 4

Sustainable Viticulture

Answer 4

Aims to promote the natural ecosystem in the vineyard, maintain biodiversity, manage waste, minimize applications of chemicals and energy use to reduce impact of viticulture on environment

Question 5

Integrated Pest Management

Answer 5

Lutte raisonee
Sets threshold at which action needs to be taken, identifies and monitors pests, sets up preventative measures, evaluates and implements control options if thresholds exceeded

Question 6

Advantages of sustainable viticulture

Answer 6

A more thoughtful approach to grape growing with attention to economic, social, and environmental impacts
The deployment of a scientific understanding of threats to successful grape growing to minimize intervention
A reduction in spraying
Cost savings

Question 7

Disadvantages of Sustainable Viticulture

Answer 7

Not a protected term - greenwashing without clear set of standards
Nationwide standards can be set too low - NZ has virtually all commercial grape growers certified sustainable but at a laughably low definition of such

Question 8

Organic Viticulture

Answer 8

Seeks to improve the soil and range of ecosystem in it thereby increasing health and disease resistance of vines

Question 9

Key features of organic viticulture

Answer 9

Applications of compost providing a slow release of nutrients for the vines improving structure of soil and increasing biomass
Use of natural fertilizer to restore natural balance
Cultivation of cover crops to prevent erosion and improve life of soil (green manure)
Reduction of monoculture establishing islands of biodiversity

Question 10

Advantages of organic grape growing

Answer 10

Improvement of health and disease resistance of vine
Improvement of health of soil
Elimination of spraying synthetic chemicals
Saving on cost of synthetic chemicals

Question 11

Disadvantages of organic viticulture

Answer 11

Small reduction in yield generally
Chance of large reduction in difficult years
Increased reliance on copper sprays which build up heavy metals in soil
Cost and time used in certification

Question 12

Biodynamic viticulture

Answer 12

Organic practices that incorporate philosophy and cosmology. Regards the farm as an organism and seeks to achieve balance between physical and higher non physical realms

Question 13

Biodynamic preparations

Answer 13

Homeopathic remedies used to fertilize soil, treat disease, and ward off pests
Preparation 500 - horn manure dissolved in water and sprayed on vineyard as compost
Preparation 501 - horn silica quartz dissolved in water and sprayed to encourage plant growth
Treatments to compost to assist in decomposition

Question 14

Regenerative viticulture

Answer 14

Holistic method of farming that aims to continually improve upon environmental, social, and economic measures. Vineyards are agroecosystems

Question 15

Core tenet of regenerative agriculture

Answer 15

Soil health
Emphasizes the interconnected natural relationships in soil that improve health if vineyard
Mycorrhizal fungi that allow plants to absorb essential elements like phosphorus, nitrogen, and water

Question 16

Features of regenerative agriculture

Answer 16

Aims to restore a vineyard site to a functioning agroecosystem to improve resources and input limits
Soil health is top priority- improves health of entire vineyard
Biodiversity
Vineyard workers improve well being by limiting exposure to chemicals
Grape growers reduce costs of synthetic inputs

Question 17

Advantages of regenerative agriculture

Answer 17

Soils rehabilitated
Carbon sequestered - fight climate change
Vineyards more resilient
Biodiversity improves
Grape growers/vineyard workers exposure to chemicals limited

Question 18

Disadvantages of regenerative viticulture

Answer 18

Not legally defined- greenwashing
Experimentation needed in vineyard to determine best course of action for their site - costing money/time/resources
After plan established, results can take time - transition is difficult and costly
Producers cannot rely on inputs in case of disease or climate pressure- reducing yields
Certification costs money

Question 19

Precision Viticulture

Answer 19

Makes use of data collected from the vineyard (soil, vine vigor, topography, plant growth) to respond to changes from plot to plot and row to row
Data collected on remote aircraft sensors or proximal tractor or harvester sensors
Interventions are targeted based upon data

Question 20

Advantages of precision viticulture

Answer 20

Detailed understanding of variations in vineyard that affect yield and quality between and within vineyards
Ability to tailor a wide range of interventions (rootstock, canopy mgmt, treatments, harvest dates) to individual blocks or rows of vines with aim of improving yields and/or quality

Question 21

Disadvantages of precision viticulture

Answer 21

Upfront cost of remote data collection
Cost of sensors and software and consultancy or trained staff to interpret data and make interventions