Bordeaux : Vineyard management Flashcards
Bordeaux: Vineyard Management
***** * Top quality vineyards are spaced at 10,000 vines per hc , one metre apart
* * Moderate , low fertiltiy soils of the region
* * Close planting = more trellis systems , special tractors, time for planting and vine training , sparying and ploughing = adds to cost but makees the most out of expensive land
* * Basic Bordeaux planted at 3-4,000 vines per hc
* * Most common training system is head trained, replacement cane-pruned along wires.
* * Left bank = Double Guyot - two canes are trained
* * Right bank= Single Guyot - cordon trained, spur pruned - reduces yields and aerates vines
* * In moderate ,damp climate, canopy management is important to reduce downy, powdery mildew and Bunch rot
* * Leaf removal during summer helps air flow and exposed grapes to UV for ripening
* * Major problems with Eutypa dieback and Esca rot the vine from the inside
* * Soft pruning seems to be successful in reducing this ( making small cuts , leaving extra wood at the cut site to allow wood to dry out and sap to flow around the plant
* * Unless organic, insecticides can be used to treat Flavescence Doree
* * 18% of Bordeaux is organic or in conversion
* * Leaf removal must be done carefully not to burn the grapes - removal should be done in the late season after extreme heat
* * Thinnig bunches is less common now and instead prune short in winter so vines find their natural balance
* * Avg yield has decreased in the last 20 years and avg. 50hc/hl
* Right bank wines could be jammy or fatigued, obscuring the sense of place, and minor nuances which make Bordeaux unique
* Harvest used to be random, teams were hired for a defined period so some grapes would be picked underripe and some too ripe
* Today, teams are hired for longer periods and are paid during interuptions of rain etc - large teams of over 100 people are hired by large estates - room and board may be provided
* In regions far from Borrdeaux city, hand pickers are hard to find and many must machine harvest
* - also if rains are high, to pick quickly
* High volume wines, are machine harvested
* Top estates still chose to pick by hand
