Establishing a Vineyard Flashcards
Decisions to be made before establishing a vineyard
1) site selection
2) approach to growing
3) plant material
4) soil preperation
Site Selection
(what to consider)
1) Natural Resources
- water
- climate
- nutrients
- hazards
2) Legal/ Logistics
- cost of land
- cost implications (ex: slopes)
- irrigation
- ease of access to winery
- proximity to distribution
- laws
- return on investment
Approach to Grape Growing
(what to consider)
Factors in world view, ethical issues, desired level of production, intended wine quality, return on investment, cost, availability of labor, and environmental impact. (8)
1) Conventional
2) Precision
3) Sustainable
4) Organic
5) Biodynamic
6) Regenerative
Conventional Viticulture
(define, pros, cons)
In the second half of the twentieth century production-oriented farming, including viticulture, went through a massive change. The new aims were to raise production levels and reduced labor requirements. This was achieved by mechanization, chemical inputs, irrigation, and colonial selection (4). Plowing between rows, herbicides, insecticides, and mineral fertilizers. !MONOCULTURE!
Pros:
1) mechanise work in vineyard
2) reduction of competition from other plants
3) ability to tend to the specific varietals requirements (irrigation, nutrition, treatment against hazards, pests, diseases)
Cons:
1) monocultures are more prone to disease as they can spread faster
2) there is not natural ecosystem to replenish nutrients
3) residual chemical treatments seep into groundwater or the air, creating environmental damage
(Aka overall harmful to quality, expensive, detrimental to environment, hazardous towards workers and consumers)
Precision Viticulture
(define, pros, cons)
A branch of agriculture that involves the use of collected data from the vineyard (composition of soil, vine vigor, topography, plant growth/rate of canopy growth) to respond plot by plot and row to row. The data is collected by sensors on aircraft (remote) or mounted on a tractor/ harvester in the field (proximal). Geospatial technology such as global positioning systems (GPS) and geographical information systems (GIS) allows the data to be presented as maps. Then with this data they can react in a targeted way for pruning, leaf removal, treatments, irrigation, crop thinning, and harvesting with the aim of producing the best quality and yield, reducing environmental impact, and reducing costs on treatments (3).
Pros:
1) detailed understanding of variations in the vineyard that affect yield and quality
2) ability to tailor interventions
Cons:
1) initial cost of remote data collection
2) cost of sensors and software and those to consult or run it
Sustainable Viticulture
(define, pros, cons)
Aims to promote the natural ecosystems in the vineyards, maintain biodiversity, manage waste, minimize chemical application, save energy, and reduce the impact of viticulture on the wider environment. Grape growers must develop an in-depth understanding of the lifecycles of the vine and vineyard pests and to monitor weather forecasts so they can predict and prevent a pest or disease outbreak before it occurs. Then use chemical interventions only when necessary (AKA Integrated Pest Management/ lutte raisonnee) Many countries and regions have guidelines but these differ from place to place. They aim to set in place a way of working such as identifying key challenges/hazards, record keeping, and ways of calculating thresholds.
Pros:
1) more thoughtful approach to grape growing
2) deploys a scientific understanding of threats
3) reduced synthetic and traditional treatments, saving money
4) limits serious crop damage
5) prevents weeds from building up resistance to chemicals
Cons:
1) not a protected term
2) the nationwide standards for sustainability are set too low
Organic Viticulture
(define, pros, cons)
Seeks to improve the vineyard soil and range of microbes and beneficial animals within it thereby increasing health and disease-resistance of the vine. Key features are rejection of synthetic applications, use of compost/ natural fertilizers, cover crops, natural predators, sexual confusion, and the reduction of monoculture (4). There are many certification bodies with slight differences but all meet the standards set by IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.)
Pros:
1) very marketable
2) improves health and disease resistance
3) improves soil health
4) eliminates the cost of buying/applying synthetic chemicals
Cons:
1) use of traditional remedies like copper sulfate can cause build up of heavy metals in the soil
2) certification and increase labour adds extra cost to production
3) lower yeilds
4)
Organic Viticulture global stats
In 2017, 5.4% of the world’s vineyards were certified organic.
- Europe with 84% of that
- Italy has the highest at 15.8%
New Zealand 4.3%
USA 2.7%
Argentina, Chile and South Africa less than 2.5% in each
The largest markets for organic wine are Germany, France, UK, USA, Sweden, and Japan
Biodynamic Viticulture
(define, pros, cons)
Based on the word of Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun. It includes organic practices but incorporates philosophy and cosmology, regarding the farm as an organism and seeking to achieve balance between the physical and nonphysical realms. Grape growing practices coincide with the cycles of the planets, moon, and stars. (Ex: moon is ascending = sap is rising thus good to take cuttings, bad to prune or moon is descending = roots are favored thus good time to prune) Maria Thun further devised a calendar to advise grape growers via root, leaf, flower, and fruit days.
Homeopathic preparations are used to fertilize soil, treat diseases, ward off pests, and to strengthen the “life force” on the farm.
1) Preparation 500: stuffing cow manure into a cows horn and burning it over the winter. Is is then dug up, dynamised (stirring it both ways), and spread as fertilizer. Said to start humus formation
2) Preperation 501: filling a cows horn with ground quartz and burying it for 6 months. It is dug up, dynamised, and sprayed to encourage plant growth
3) Preparations 502-508: compost has to be the first ‘activated’ by a series of starters added in tiny quantities (yarrow, chamomile, nettle, oak bark, dandelion, and valerian.) They assist with the decomposition of the compost.
Also allowed to use traditional copper/sulphur sprays but many opt to “ash” aka spreading the ash of burning weeds/pests to ward them off.
Demeter sets the international standard
The same pros and cons as organic viticulture plus even more cost for certification
Regenerative Viticulture
(define, key features, pros, cons)
A term coined by the Rodale in the 1980s. A distinct and holistic method of farming that aims to continually improve upon environmental, social, and economic measure by using methods similar to organic/sustainable farming but by working to improve resources like soil and water rather than just maintaining them. They call there vineyards as agroecosystems or ecosystems modified for agriculture, shifting focus to creating functional ecosystems. There is no universal standard but certifying agencies do exist such as the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA).
Key features:
1) aims to restore a vineyard site to a functioning argoecosystem to improve resources and limit inputs
2) soil health is top priority as restoring it improves the health of the whole vineyard (ex: Mycorrhizal fungi forms symbiotic relationships with plants, allowing them to better absorb phosphorus, nitrogen, and water)
3) biodiversity above and below ground
4) 86s cost and danger of synthetic chemicals
5) soils need to be left undisturbed so they can build up biodiversity, sequester carbon, and maintain pathways for connection (no tilling or irrigation)
Pros:
1) rehabilitated soils, decreasing need for chemicals
2) sequesters carbon, fighting climate change
3) increased resilience, limiting impacts of climate change
4) improved biodiversity thus animal welfare
5) improved lives of grape growers via less chemical exposure
Cons:
1) not legally defined
2) takes a long time and resources to figure out
3) results take time
4) reduced yields as they can’t rely on inputs
5) costly certifications
Plant Material
(what to consider)
1) climate
2) law/ logistics
3) availability
4) cost
5) yield/ ROI
6) style
7) market demand
Most common rootstocks and what to consider when choosing a rootstock
Most common:
1) Vinifera (not phylloxera resistant)
2) Rupestris (roots deeply and quickly)
3) Riparia (waterlog resistant)
4) Berlandieri (roots deeply and quickly, tolerant to soils with high salinity and high/low pH)
5) Champini (tolerant of nematodes)
What to consider:
1) pests
2) water
3) vigour
4) soil pH
Clonal selection for high vs low volume production
High Volume:
1) high yields
2) disease resistant
3) style homogeneity
4) style considerations
Low Volume:
1) low yields
2) color/ tannin/ aroma intensity
3) complexity
4) style considerations
Once you have the plant material what choices do you have to make?
1) vine density
2) row orientation
3) yield
Considerations regarding vine density, orientation, and yield
1) trellising system
2) vigor of variety
3) topography of the site
4) row spacing
5) yield requirements
6) local laws
Soil Preperation
(what to consider)
1) texture (partial size, impacts water and nutrient retention)
2) structure (how it holds together aka size, shape, and stability, impacts how it holds water, nutrients, earthworms, etc)
3) impact on heat and light (light soils reflect light, dark soils hold heat reducing diurnal cycles)
4) presence of disease/ pests (soil test)
(also oxygen availability, erosion resistance, and ability for roots to penetrate)
