Chapter 4 - Grape-growing and related labelling terms

Question 1

What are vines?

Answer 1

• Plants that can live for 60 years or more
• Same pattern every year: new shoots, leaves, flowers at the start of the season, by end of summer transformed into a crop of ripe grapes, autumn: drops its leaves, dormant in winter
• Different leaves produce vastly different kinds of grapes

Question 2

What does a vine need?

Answer 2

• Warmth
• Sunlight: for photosynthesis, convert CO2 into sugars
• Carbon dioxide
• Water
• Nutrients

Question 3

What are parts of a grape?

Answer 3

• Skins: contain high levels of colour, tannins and flavours. Higher content in black grapes
• Pulp: contains acid and flavours. Mostly same colour for black and white grapes
• Seeds and stems: High levels of tannin, may make wine taste bitter

Question 4

What are the steps in grape formation and ripening?

Answer 4

• Flowering: clusters of flowers that become a bunch of grapes each. Air pollination required
• Fruit set: After pollination, seeds are grown that swell. Small, hard green grapes created that need to ripen during summer months
• Véraison: Grapes lose dark green colour
• Ripening: acidity drops, sweetness goes up. Tannins develop in skins of grapes

Question 5

What affects the concentration of sugars?

Answer 5

• Extra ripening: extra ripeness means extra sugars, grapes turn into raisins at some point of time. Used to make sweet wines
• Botrytis/noble rot: fungus that makes tiny holes in skin of grape, causes water to evaporate, concentrates acids and flavours. Must grow on ripe grapes to be beneficial (only beneficial under certain conditions)
• Frozen grapes: healthy grapes are left behind. Picked while frozen and ice crystals are separated in the winery. Icewine is the result

Question 6

When do vines grow and what are basic terms of climated conditions?

Answer 6

• Northern hemisphere: April to October
• Southern hemisphere: October to April
• Cool: average growing seasons temperature of 16.5°
• Moderate: 16.5-18.5°
• Warm: 18.5-21.0°
• Some grapes only grow in certain temperature areas (e.g. Grenache), other grapes develop differently (e.g. Chardonnay)

Question 7

What are the most important climatic influences?

Answer 7

• Latitude: 30-50° north or south of the equator. Hotter climates closer to equator
• Temperatures drop with altitude
• Seas: oceans may moderate climate (e.g. South Africa, Europe)
• Rivers: stay warmer longer than land, help extend growing season
• Air: Cool air from mountains or seas has moderating effect
• Cloud, fog, mist: Clouds can block sunlight (important in Australia), fog cools down vineyard (important in California and Chile), mist (less dense fog), essential for development of botrytis
• Mountains: shield vineyards from clouds, rain and cold wind
• Slope and aspect: more heat and light if vines planted on a slope facing the equator
• Soil: absorbs water. Stones can absorb more heat and help with grape-ripening

Question 8

What are typical weather-related issues in growing wine?

Answer 8

• Weather: can cause problems for wine-growers
• Cool vintages: too little sunlight and low temperatures may prevent grapes from ripening, resulting in high acidity levels
• Hot vintages: hotter than normal, more dried fruit aromas. Grapes are ripen, in case of total lack of water may be prevented from ripening (also irrigation may not be available)
• Drought: similar effect
• Heavy rain: grapes more susceptible to fungus (spraying might be necessary), may dilute flavours
• Hail: may cause loss of annual crop of grapes
• Frost: may kill new growth and reduce number of grapes

Question 9

How can a winegrower manage his grapes during a year?

Answer 9

• Training and pruning: trained on trellises
• Irrigation
• Spraying: nets and fences used against larger animals, but insects/fungus can be only come by with sprays. However, use is limited
• Yield: in some areas maximum yield set by law
• Harvest: timing decides on sugar/acidity levels

Question 10

What are basic rules around Geographic Indications (GI)?

Answer 10

• Outside of European Union: least level of restrictions, wine producer can decide on grapes used, style etc
• Inside of the EU: not only geographical indication, but also further rules
• PDO - Protected Designation of Origin: most prestigious wines follow this indication
• PGI - Protected Geographical Indication: less strict rules

Question 11

What are some other terms related to wine-growing?

Answer 11

• Older vines/veilles vignes: older wines with lower yield, may have more concentrated aromas, designation not legally protected
• Vintage: most wines are best when drunk young
• Late harvest: lead to fuller-bodied wines (only in Alsace allowed: vendanges tardives)
• Botrytis/noble rot: very concentrated levels of acid and sugar
• Icewine: grapes were left to freeze before harvest, very concentrated levels of acid and sugar