China : The Growing Environment and Grape Growing

Question 1

China: Climate

Answer 1

• nearly all continental with very cold and arid winters
  -vines need to be buried as early as November to survive
  -arid conditions mean vines undergroun will retain the water
  -heavy rainfall in summer
  -country is 4,500km between some regions with very different climates

Question 2

China: Heilongjiang and Jilin

Climate

Answer 2

• extreme cold winters , bury vines is essential

Question 3

China: Beijing and Hebei

Climate

Answer 3

• humid continental with warm summers and cold winters
  -torrential rain in August and September
  -overall rainfall 200-300mm
  -Cool Pacific Ocean Breezes moderate warm temperatures and reduce humidity
  -fungal diseases are an issue
  -older vineyards were planted on fertile soils with poor drainage = excessive yield and poor fruit
  -now planted on better sites
  -Challenges : short term heavy rain, humiddity and over rich soils

Question 4

China: Shandong

CLimate

Answer 4

• east coast
  -warm maritime climate , wetter with the heaviest rain in August and September before harvest
  -Rot is a persistant problem

Question 5

China: Shanxi and Shaanxi

Climate

Answer 5

• dry continental climate
  -less than 500mm of annual rainfall
  -inland regions
  -higher humidity in southern Shaanxi raising fungal issues

Question 6

China: Ningxia

Climate

Answer 6

-well inland, continental
-200mm of rainfall
-windy
-essentail irrigation from the Yellow River
-best area in the Helan mountains where they are protected fr omthe NW desert winds

Question 7

China: Xinjiang and Gansu

CLimate

Answer 7

• NW , extremely dry ( 80mm)
  -winter snow can arrive in October =short growing season
  -very windy
  -frost is a problem in spring and also atumn in Xinjiang up in the mountains at 1,100m
  -dry conditions mean less spraying
  -water is sourced from the melted snow in Tian Shan ( Heavenly Mountains )
  -hihg volume production , sold to the eastern provinces
  -Gansu is very dry with. shorter , cooler growing season

Question 8

China: Yunnan

Climate

Answer 8

-sub tropical climate
far south
-slopes at 1,600-2,900m
-in the foothills of of the Himalayans
long frost free season and one of the few inland areas with no need to bury vines

Question 9

China: Vineyard Management

Answer 9

• traditional and modern run by French investors
  -Older vines were ungrafter ( no phyloxerra )
  -Vines trained as **Multi Cordon Fan ** - mulitple cordons grown from. a very low trunk , popular in the table grape industry
  or **Single Dragon ** - single trunk at a slight angle as a spur trained cordon
  -both designed to carry high yileds and lacka sinlge fruiting zone -=uneven ripening
  -Most have converted to spur-pruned Chang shaped - trunk is bent to allow for easier burial and ensuring unified fruit zone

Dense canopies and irrigation , fertiisers are all common issues contirbuting to poor fruit quality

-Leaf roll virus leasds to underripe fruit - a problem for Caberent Sauv and Carmenere - green flavours

• in the past , vineyards had a lack of viticulture training and lack of good planting material

**all the vineyards are owned by the government making any changes to official sanction very hard , changing a training system etc
-the adviser must be part of the local agricutlural unit of the goverment

• vines are buried in November and dug out in March -April
  -advanced manual labour adds 20-30% of the cost
  -availabilty of labour is an issue as older generations of vineyard workers are not being replaed with younger generations - most move to urban areas
  -older generations are asking for more money for specialised skills
  -close to major cities , like Beijing, Huailai is having trouble keeping workers