Approaches to Grape Growing Flashcards
Explain Conventional Viticulture.
The aims included raising production levels and reducing labour requirements. This was achieved by mechanisation, chemical inputs, irrigation and clonal selection. Viticulture became a monoculture. Vineyards kept weed free by ploughing between the rows and spraying with herbicides. The use of agrochemicals in the vineyard to control pests and diseases significantly increased. Also an increased use of mineral fertilisers.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Conventional Viticulture?
Advantages include: Ability to mechanise the work in the vineyard Reduction of competition from other plants Ability to tend to the specific needs of the grape variety planted (irrigation, nutrition level, treatments against hazards, pests and diseases) and to increase yields while reducing costs. Disadvantages are: Any plants in a monoculture are much more prone to diseases (e.g. the common fungal diseases) and pests and therefore need more treatments or protection Nutrients can be depleted as there is no natural ecosystem to replenish nutrients, requiring more applications of fertilisers Residual chemicals can find their way into ground water or the air, creating environmental damage.
Explain Organic Viticulture.
Organic viticulture seeks to improve the soil of the vineyard and the range of microbes and animals, such as earthworms, within it and thereby increase the health and disease-resistance of the vine. It rejects the use of man-made (also known as synthetic) fertilisers, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Organic Viticulture?
Advantages of organic grape growing are:
Making the health and disease-resistance of the vine and the health of the soil central aims of the grape grower. The reduction in the number of chemical treatments in the vineyard and the elimination of spraying synthetic chemicals.
Saving on the cost of synthetic chemicals.
The disadvantages are: Possible small reduction in yield generally.
Possibility of significant reductions in yield in difficult years (e.g. long periods of rainfall or high humidity) Increased reliance on copper sprays, which may in turn lead to the build-up of heavy metal in the soils The cost and time expended on certification where this is sought.
Explain Bio-dynamic Viticulture
Biodynamic viticulture is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun. It includes organic practices, but also incorporates philosophy and cosmology. The vineyard soil is seen as part of a connected system with the planet Earth, the air and other planets. Practitioners adapt their grape growing practices to coincide with the cycles of the planets, moon and stars. The additional costs of biodynamic grape growing are estimated to be little more than organic growing, generally due to the need for additional labour to tend the vineyard.
Biodynamic grape growing has mainly been taken up by smaller scale grape growers and estates, including some of the most prestigious domaines in Burgundy (e.g. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti). It has been particularly popular in the Loire Valley, and has advocates around the world.
Working off of organic practices, the same advantages and disadvantages apply to bio-dynamic viticulture.
Explain Sustainable Viticulture
Sustainable viticulture aims to promote the natural ecosystems in the vineyards, maintain biodiversity, manage waste, minimise applications of chemicals and energy use, and reduce the impact of viticulture on the wider environment.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Sustainable Viticulture?
Advantages of sustainable viticulture are: A more thoughtful approach to grape growing, with attention to the economic, social and environmental impact of viticulture. The deployment of a scientific understanding of the threats to successful grape growing (pests and diseases) to minimise the number of interventions needed. A reduction in the spraying of synthetic and traditional treatments. The consequent cost saving that has incentivised grape growers to work in a more sustainable way. The disadvantages are: The term is not protected and therefore can be used to promote wine without a clear set of standards. The danger that nationwide standards for sustainability can be set too low. New Zealand’s high rate of uptake for its scheme – virtually all commercial grape growers – has both been praised for reducing the amount of pesticides used but criticised for setting too low a bar for sustainable certification.
What are the key features of Organic Viticulture?
The key features are:
The application of compost, which breaks down in the soil providing a slow release of nutrients for vines, and improves the structure and increases the biomass in the soil (the total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area or volume).
Cover crops are also often used to prevent erosion of the soil and to contribute to the improvement of the life of the soil. This can be through ploughing them in (‘green manure’) or by improving biodiversity.
Natural fertilisers may also be used (animal dung, natural calcium carbonate, etc.). The idea is to restore the natural balance of the vineyard.
The monoculture of vineyards can be reduced by growing cover crops, planting hedges and establishing ‘islands’ of biodiversity. In addition, organic grape growers can make use of natural predators and ecosystem mechanisms. For example, to defend against grey rot, the bacterium Bacillus Subtilis can be introduced, which competes with Botrytis Cinerea for space on the grape. ‘Sexual confusion’ techniques are also commonly used. They involve the use of pheromone tags or capsules to disrupt the mating patterns of insects such as moths and mealy bugs, and in this way, limit their populations.
Explain Precision Viticulture.
Precision viticulture (PV), a branch of precision agriculture, makes use of data collected from the vineyard (soil, vigour, topography, plant growth) to respond to changes from plot to plot and from row to row. The data is collected by sensors either on aircraft (‘remote’) or mounted on a tractor or harvester in the field (‘proximal’).
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Precision Viticulture?
Advantages include: Detailed understanding of variations in the vineyard that affect yield and quality between and within vineyards. The ability to tailor a wide range of interventions (choice of variety and rootstock, canopy management, treatments, harvest dates) to individual blocks or even rows of vines, with the aim of improving yields and/or quality. Disadvantages are: Initial cost of remote data collection. Cost of sensors and software and of either consultancy or trained staff to interpret the data and make interventions in the light of it.
