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WSET 4 > D4: Approaches to Grape Growing > Flashcards

D4: Approaches to Grape Growing Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the five different types of viticulture which can be used?

A
  • conventional
  • sustainable
  • organic
  • biodynamic
  • precision
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2
Q

What are the advantages (4) and disadvantages (3) to conventional viticulture?

A

ADVANTAGE

  • mechanise vineyard work
  • reduce plant competition
  • can tend specific needs of grape varieties planted
  • increase yields while reducing costs

DISADVANTAGE

  • plants more prone to disease and pests and need more protection
  • nutrients depleted as no natural eco-system so need fertilisers
  • chemicals get into ground water or air, creating environmental damage
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3
Q

What has been the impact of conventional viticulture from the turn of the 20th Century?

A
  • raised production levels
  • reduced labour requirements due to mechanisation, chemical inputs, irrigation, clonal selection
  • weed-free vineyards
  • agrochemicals used to control pests and diseases
  • increased use of mineral fertilisers

By late 20th Century, seeing the impact and start trying to reduce dependence on chemicals

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4
Q

What are the advantages (5) and disadvantages (2) of sustainable viticulture?

A

ADVANTAGE

  • thoughtful grape growing
  • attention to economic, social and environmental impact of viticulture
  • deployment of scientific understanding of threats to minimise interventions
  • reduction in spraying of synthetic and traditional treatments
  • saving money

DISADVANTAGE

  • not a protected term so can be used in different ways
  • query whether standards are too low e.g. NZ has very low bar for sustainable certifications
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5
Q

What are the aims of sustainable viticulture?

A
  • promote natural ecosystems in vineyard
  • maintain biodiversity
  • manage waste
  • minimise application of chemicals and energy use
  • reduce impact of viticulture on wider environment
  • grape growers should understand the lifecycle of vineyard, weather etc and try and anticipate issues before they occur
  • should also reduce amount of spraying needed
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6
Q

What is ‘integrated pest management’ (IPM)?

A
  • key part of sustainable agriculture
  • can use chemical interventions if necessary but follow organic principles
  • sets threshold for when action is needed
  • monitors pests
  • preventative measures
  • evaluate and implementing control options
  • supported by University of California IPM dept which has guidance for grape growers to follow
  • growers monitor scale of problem and only intervene before it reaches an economic threshold
  • anticipate problems and act at the right time

Most countries and regions have guidelines and standards which vary from place to place

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7
Q

What is the aim of organic viticulture?

A

seeks to:

  • improve soil of vineyard
  • increase organisms in soil
  • increase health and disease resistance of the vine

rejects use of man-made fertilisers, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides

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8
Q

What are the three key features of organic viticulture?

A

1) COMPOST
- breaks down soil
- slow release of nutrients
- improves structure and biomass of soil

2) COVER CROPS
- prevent soil erosion
- improves soil life either through green manure or through biodiversity

3) NATURAL FERTILISERS
- animal dung, natural calcium carbonate etc
- aiming to restore natural balance of vineyard

OTHERS

  • reducing monoculture of vineyard
  • cover crops
  • planting hedges
  • creating ‘islands’ of biodiversity
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9
Q

What are the traditional remedies for combatting mildew in organic viticulture?

A
  • copper sulphate
  • sulphur

Don’t want to overspray it as can get a build up of metals in the soil

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10
Q

What two natural things are used in organic viticulture to deal with fungi and pests?

A
  • use natural predators and ecosystem mechanisms
  • GREY ROT: introduce BACILLUS SUBTILIS to compete with botrytis cinera for space on the grape
  • SEXUAL CONFUSION: use pheremone tags to disrupt mating patterns of pests and limit their populations
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11
Q

What is the main certified body for organic viticulture?

A
  • INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MOVEMENTS (IFOAM)
  • individual countries have own standards so no uniformity
  • must undergo a period of conversion to organic standards before being organically certified
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12
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being organically certified?

A

COST/BENEFIT:

  • potentially lower yields
  • need additional labour

ADVANTAGE

  • health and disease resistance of vine and soil
  • reduces use of chemicals
  • save money on use of expensive chemicals

DISADVANTAGE

  • small reduction in yield
  • significant reduction in yields in difficult years
  • reliance on copper sprays (build up of metal in soil)
  • takes time and money to get certified
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13
Q

How wide is the uptake of organic farming?

A
  • 10% vineyards in Europe farmed organically
  • 85% organic vineyards in Europe
  • Spain is fastest growing - Castilla-La-Mancha (hot, dry climate)
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14
Q

What is biodynamic viticulture?

A
  • pioneered by Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun
  • organic practices combined with philosophy and cosmology
  • the vineyard is seen as part of a connected system with planet Earth, air and other planets
  • growing practices are centred around cycles of planets, moons and stars
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15
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, what does it mean if the moon is ascending?

A
  • summer mood is evoked
  • sap is rising
  • good time to take cuttings for grafting
  • do not prune
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16
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, what does it mean if the moon is descending?

A
  • winter mood evoked
  • roots are favoured
  • good time to plant vines or prune
17
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, what are ‘preparations’?

A
  • good for fertile soil
  • treat disease
  • ward off pests

PREPARATION 500

  • horn manure - believed to catalyse humus formation
  • cow manure stuffed into cow horn and buried for winter
  • dug up and dynamised
  • sprayed on vineyards

PREPARATION 501

  • horn silica - believed to encourage plant growth
  • ground quartz (silica) put in cow horn and buried for six months
  • dug up, dynamised and sprayed
18
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, what is dynamising?

A
  • contents of horn stirred in water
  • create vortex and then reverse it
  • water memorises power of preparation which is then passed to the vineyard
19
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, what do they believe compost needs?

A
  • believe needs to be activated by series of starters added in tiny quantities
    • yarrow
    • nettle
    • dandelion
    • chamomile
    • oak bark
    • valerian

AKA PREPARATION 502 - 507

Assists with decomposition of compost

20
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, do they use traditional chemical sprays?

A
  • yes

- spray against disease (inc copper and sulphur)

21
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, what is ‘ashing’?

A
  • spreading ashes of burnt weeds seeds or harmful animals in vineyard to ward off these hazards
22
Q

In biodynamic viticulture, what is Demeter?

A
  • common certification body for biodynamic grape growing
  • international standards for farming and animal husbandry
  • organic certification of vineyards as baseline
23
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages for biodynamic viticulture?

A

COST:
- may have increased labour costs but not any additional costs in comparison to organic

ADVANTAGE

  • health and disease resistance of vine and soil
  • reduces use of chemicals
  • save money on use of expensive chemicals

DISADVANTAGE

  • small reduction in yield
  • significant reduction in yields in difficult years
  • reliance on copper sprays (build up of metal in soil)
  • takes time and money to get certified
24
Q

Where is biodynamic viticulture popular?

A
  • Loire
  • Burgundy (e.g. DRC)
  • mainly pioneered by smaller growers and estates
25
Q

What is precision viticulture?

A
  • makes use of data collected from vineyard (soil, vigour, topography, plant growth) to respond to growth changes and variations
26
Q

For precision viticulture, what are the two different sensors used?

A
  • remote sensors: on aircraft (eg)
  • proximal sensors: on tractor/harvester in field

GPS and geographical information systems (GIS) allow data to be presented visually on maps

27
Q

Precision viticulture: what are the benefits of using GPS and GIS?

A
  • allow data to be presented visually on maps
  • can target vineyard interventions
  • known as VARIABLE-RATE APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY
  • can respond to plot by plot, or row by row differences
28
Q

Precision Viticulture: what are the six key interventions?

A
  • pruning
  • leaf removal
  • treatments
  • irrigation
  • crop thinning
  • harvesting

Can all be targeted with the aim of:

  • improving yield and quality
  • reducing environmental impact
  • reducing cost of treatments

EXAMPLE:

  • specific leaf stripping half way down a row to reduce vigour
  • changing rootstock halfway down row
29
Q

Precision viticulture: what are the advantages, disadvantages and cost benefits?

A
  • very expensive so only possible on large scale or high value estates

ADVANTAGES

  • detailed understanding of vineyard variations
  • can tailor interventions within blocks or rows

DISADVANTAGES

  • very expensive upfront costs
  • need to properly interpret data with experts
30
Q

Where is precision viticulture mainly used and to what benefit?

A
  • mainly used in California and Australia

- best for irrigation or treatment rates

WSET 4 (17 decks)

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