D1: Viticulture scenarios Flashcards
Priorat:
Although there are variations in different subzones, in general Priorat experience very hot, dry summers and cold winters
° The region is so hot, the vines are planted on slopes facing north east to protect against the extreme afternoon heat
° The soils in Priorat are stony slate and quartz (liquorella)
° There is little organic matter and so the soils are low in nutrients but free draining
° irrigation is not permitted
° The hot and dry conditions result in a high evapotranspiration rate
— overall, this means that the vine struggles to obtain enough water
- The vigour of vines and their yield is limited by the lack of water and the soil is poor in nutrients
– the individual vines are relatively small
— so bush vines
—- so the shoots and leaves provide some shading for the grapes in these
but the vines are not so vigour, that excessive shading becomes an issue
° Low density planting (2500-3000 vines per ha) so the roots of the vine can grow over a large area in search of water and nutrients
° yields are so extremely low due the number of old vines in the region (approximately 12-25hl/ha) but may be lower in some areas
- Garnacha and Carinena are the most widely planted grape varieties
- late ripening (so they do not reach sugar ripeness too quickly)
- drought tolerant
- a grapegrower may also choose to use a drought tolerant rootstock such as 140R
Why will the wines of Priorat never be inexpensive ?
1) the terrain is extremely rugged
2) the vines are often not trellised: the work in the vineyard, including harvesting needs to be carried out by hand
3) low yields
4) need for long hours of manual labour
Pauillac, Bordeaux:
1) near the atlantic ocean:
– moderates the climate
– moderate summers and mild winters
— rain throughout the year
2) the soils are free draining and poor in nutrients
High stony gravel content at the left bank
3) Cab sauvignon is the main variety:
- - med to late ripening
- - can struggle to ripen in bordeaux coolest sites and years
- – it can also lack to body and diversity of fruit aroma’s
- – so blended with merlot, who ripens earlier and add body and fruity aromas to the blend
4) The vines are typically trellises to a VSP system
- - poor, free draining soils limit the vigour of the vine,
- – so more complex systems of training for big vines would not be suitable
- - usually head trained and replacement cane pruned
VSP: the canopy is appropriately arranged:
– the grapes are exposed to the sun
– the surface area of the leaves is maximised
– air circulation is improved
—- helps to reduce onset of fungal diseases
All promoting to produce healthy ripe grapes
5) High density plantings (1m by 1m) around 10000 vines per ha
- - rainfall is high enough for vine competition not to be a problem
- - the vineyard land in pauillac is expensive, so maximising the yield per ha by planting vines closely makes economic sense
- - yields: average 50-60 hl/ ha
6) Vine trellising means that some vineyard procedures, such as trimming and weed management, can be done by machine
7) harvesting may be carried out by hand or machine
Finger Lakes New york:
1) AVA
2) the deep lakes in the region provide some moderation of temp (v.vin would not be able to grow here without the moderating effects of the lakes)
- - summers are still moderate and winters are extremely cold
3) The vineyards are located around the edges of the finger lakes
- -black varieties like cab f are grown on the land nearest the lakes to benefit from the slightly more moderate conditions
- – this extend the period over which grape growing is viable (rendabel)
- — providing more chance for the tannins and aromas in these varieties to get ripe
4) The main grape variety is riesling:
- - winter hardiness
- - however grape grower will also hill up the soil to protect the graft (which is generally the part of the vine that is more at risk from winter freeze)
- - late budding variety: protecting against spring frost
- — a variety of clones of riesling are planted:
* to provide blending options (enhance quality of final wine)
* also providing differentiation between different riesling in a winery portfolio
5) the soils are nutrient rich, and with plentifull rainfall throughout the year results in vigorous vine growth
- - scott henry trellising system
- – divide the canopy and hence improve light interception in large canopies
* various summer pruning techniques (eg leaf striping) may also be carried out to enhance ripeness
6) rainfall in the growing season means that fungal diseases can be a problem
- - divided scott henry technique enhance air circulation and reduce risk for fungal diseases
- - spraying fungicides is usually necessary also
7) Large vine needs sufficient space so that they do not overlap, so vine densities are low (2800-3200 vines per ha)
- - between row spacing is also large to allow mechanisation because labour availability is low
- - however each vine can ripen a large crop: so yields are around 50-60hl/ ha
Central valley California:
1) Area that produces large volumes of grapes for inexpensive, high volume wines
- - the key concern of the grape grower will be to maximise the yield of grapes while keeping costs low in order to maximise profit
2) Has a warm, dry, sunny growing season
- - rainfall is limited, so irrigation is permitted
- - level of nutrients will vary according to the soil and how the vineyard has been managed in the past
- — fertilisers can be added
* these factors combined mean that the vines can grow large and grow large crop of fruit
3) Vines are expensive to buy, so the most cost effective option for the grape grower is low density planting(around 1200- 1800 vines per ha) of big high yielding vines (approximately 180-200hl/ha)
4) in such condition a large range of varieties can ripen. the choice of grape variety will typically be based on market demand and the price (eg per kilo) that the grape variety can command
5) California Sprawl
- - spur pruned and cordon trained (replacement cane pruning is more skilled labour)
- - In these trellis system the vines are trained relatively high
- – a single wire is installed above the cordon and the shoots flop up and over the wire
- — cheap
- — the hanging shoots also provides shading conditions for the hot afternoon sunshine, this reduces chance on sunburn
* sometimes Lyre trellising system is used to manage the vigour of the vines
* summer pruning techniques such as leaf pulling require labour or machinery and therefore are generally not carried out
* green harvesting which requires dropping fruit, is unlikely as this would reduce yields
6) overall the lack of passing through the vineyard and attention to individual vines may result in variable ripeness within the crop of grapes, and therefore lower the quality
7) Machine harvesting because this is the most cost effective for large vineyards
– fruit may be pickesd at night:
° the grapes remain cool during transportation
° reducing chance of oxidation and microbial spoilage
° exclude the cost of refrigeration
— if there is a large amount of fruit to be harvested, than only picking at night is not an option
8) The main concern of the grape grower is to have a crop unaffected by rot and that is healthy
- - this means the grapes can be picked relatively early to avoid any risk of rain as autumn approaches
- — this can also be an option to the rain if the grape grower produces higher quality of fruit
