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Certified Sommelier Exam (CMS 2) > Grape Growing / Viticulture > Flashcards

Grape Growing / Viticulture Flashcards

1
Q

Name four common types of viticulture.

A
  1. Organic
  2. Biodynamic
  3. Sustainable
  4. Dry farming
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2
Q

Give a general definition of climate.

A

General weather conditions in an area over a long period of time, which includes:

  • temperature
  • humidity
  • air pressure
  • rainfall
  • sunshine
  • cloud cover
  • wind
  • other elements that are relatively stable from year to year
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3
Q

List:

four climate types

A
  1. Continental
  2. Maritime
  3. Mediterranean
  4. Desert/Arid
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4
Q

List:

four climate descriptors

A
  1. Cool
  2. Moderate
  3. Warm
  4. Hot
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5
Q

Define:

macroclimate

A

The climate of an area, such as a wine region.

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6
Q

Define:

mesoclimate

A

The climate of a vineyard.

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7
Q

Define:

microclimate

A

The climate around a single vine.

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8
Q

What are degree days?

A

Growing Degree Days (GDD) is defined as the daily average temperature (the sum of daily maximum and minimum temperatures divided by two) of a site on a daily basis during the seven month growing season (April to October in the Northern Hemisphere, October to April in the Southern Hemisphere) minus a threshold of 50 degrees F (10°C) needed for vine growth and time.

GDD is also known as the heat summation index.

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9
Q

Fill in the blank.

Most wine-growing regions are within the ___ degree latitudinal lines.

A

30-50°

Wine-growing regions may exist outside this range mainly due to climate moderators.

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10
Q

Climate Moderators

Six factors that affect the general climate of an area include:

A
  1. Altitude/elevation
  2. Diurnal shifts
  3. Sunshine hours
  4. Bodies of water
  5. Wind
  6. Rain shadow effect
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11
Q

Climate moderator

Which two regions does the San Pablo Bay affect?

A

Napa and Sonoma counties in California

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12
Q

Climate moderator

What area does the Benguela Current affect?

A

South Africa

Read here for more information.

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13
Q

Climate moderator

What area does the Humboldt Current affect?

A

Chile

Read here for more information.

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14
Q

Climate moderation

What climate moderating effect do Alsace, Mendoza, and Columbia Valley, Washington have in common?

A

They’re all in a rain shadow.

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15
Q

What is topography?

A

Surface features of the land, such as local elevation or altitude.

It includes local mountains, hills, valleys, and bodies of water.

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16
Q

What is the most important topopgraphy feature of Alsace, France?

A

Vosges Mountain Range

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17
Q

What region is affected by the Cascade Mountain Range?

A

Columbia Valley, Washington

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18
Q

The Andes Mountains create a rain shadow for this wine region.

A

Mendoza, Argentina

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19
Q

List the seven most commonly found soil types for viticulture.

A
  1. Clay
  2. Slate
  3. Limestone
  4. Granite
  5. Chalk
  6. Sand
  7. Schist
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20
Q

List five properties of soil.

A
  1. Drainage or water retention
  2. Sun reflection
  3. Nutrient content
  4. Temperature regulation
  5. Pest resistance
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21
Q

What is the major soil type of Champagne?

A

Chalk

Specifically, Belemnite chalk which has a high limestone content. This allows vine roots to dig deeply and is linked to increased acidity.

22
Q

What is the major soil type of Chablis?

A

Kimmeridgian marl

23
Q

What are the major soil types of the Côte d’Or?

A

Limestone and clay

24
Q

What is the major soil type of Coonawarra?

A

Well-drained red terra rossa.

25
Q

What is the main soil type of Gimblett Gravels?

A

Deep, pure gravel beds.

26
Q

What is the main soil type of Haut-Médoc?

A

Well-drained gravelly soils.

27
Q

What is the main soil type of Pomerol?

A

Generally, the soils of Pomerol are clay based.

But there is also sand, clay and gravel, with a subsoil of iron pan and rich clay (crasse de fer).

28
Q

What is the main soil types of St.-Émilion?

A

St-Émilion contains a diversity of soils broadly categorized into two types: the côtes and graves.

As a simplification, the hillside côtes are steep limestone slopes and graves is a gravelly limestone plateau resembling soils of the Médoc.

29
Q

What is the soil like in Châteauneuf-du-Pape?

A

Sand, gravel, and clay with “pudding stones” called galets.

30
Q

What is the soil type in Cornas?

A

Granite

31
Q

What is the soil type in Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie?

A

Granite and schist

32
Q

Name six key parts of the grape vine.

A
  1. Rootstock
  2. Trunk
  3. Cordons
  4. Shoots/canes
  5. Grape clusters/bunches
  6. Canopy
33
Q

What is a hybrid?

A

When the two parent vines are from different species.

e.g. Vidal Blanc, often simply called Vidal, is bred from Ugni Blanc (V. vinifera) and a member of the Seibel family (American parentage).

34
Q

What is a crossing?

A

When the two parent vines are from the same species.

e.g. Pinotage

Pinot Noir x Cinsault

35
Q

What is a clone?

A

At each cell division during plant growth there is the risk that random mutations in the genetic code will occur. Many of these mutations have no effect on the vine; however, some will cause the new vine to have slightly different characteristics (e.g. smaller or larger grapes, thicker or thinner grape skins, more or less disease resistance, etc.). This causes diversity within the vines of the same grape variety, and each diverse plant is called a clone.

Pinot Noir is a variety with many clones.

36
Q

Give two examples of Vitis Labrusca.

A
  1. Catawba
  2. Concord
37
Q

Name two reasons why vineyard management is important.

A
  1. Vineyards need to be managed to remain viable and healthy.
  2. Vines need to be managed or trained so they grow to a particular size and ideal shape to ripen grapes best.
38
Q

What is meant by the term ‘canopy management’?

A

Managing the growth of the vines’ leaves.

39
Q

What is ‘green harvest’?

A

A quality measure of removing or dropping unripe grapes or clusters.

40
Q

List the eight phases of a vine’s growing cycle.

A
  1. Dormancy
  2. Bud Break
  3. Flowering
  4. Fruit Set
  5. Ripening (Veraison, Hangtime)
  6. Maturity
  7. Harvest
  8. Pruning
41
Q

What is vineyard (or slope) aspect?

A

Which direction a slope or vineyard faces.

Vineyards that face the sun throughout most of the day (south-facing in the northern hemisphere and north-facing in the southern hemisphere) will receive more solar radiation than those facing the opposite direction.

42
Q

What are the two main vine training systems?

A
  1. Head training, such as Gobelet/bush.
  2. Cordon training, which uses support for growth.
43
Q

What is phylloxera?

A

A microscopic vine louse.

In mid-19th century it destroyed many of the vineyards in France. Use of resistant American vine species rootstock helped to stop the spread.

Most wine regions of the world are affected by phylloxera.

44
Q

How is phylloxera controlled?

A

Grafting of Vitis Vinifera onto Vitis Labrusca rootstock

45
Q

What is Pierce’s Disease?

A

Spread by the glassy-winged sharpshooter, it is a bacterial disease that quickly kills vines.

The bacterium lives in the sap channels of vines, which it clogs, leading to grape shrivelling, dropping leaves and the death of the vine between one and five years. The exact symptoms are unclear and so vines must be tested in a laboratory to ascertain whether they are infected.

It originated on the American continent.

It initially affected the southern USA and Central America, and is present in California.

46
Q

What is yield, and what influences it?

A

Yield is how much fruit a vine produces.

It is influenced by many factors and controlled (or not) by human intervention.

47
Q

How is yield measured?

A

In two ways:

  1. Tons per acre;
  2. Hectoliters per hectare.
48
Q

How is grape quality impacted by yield choices?

A

Should a producer wish to achieve a large yield, quality of fruit tends to reduce (less flavor concentration and intensity);

Should a producer wish to achieve a smaller yield, quality of fruit tends to increase (improved flavor concentration and intensity).

49
Q

What are five considerations made when deciding on time to pick (or harvest the grapes)?

A
  1. Weather
  2. Style of wine being made
  3. Producer goals
  4. Regional wine law
  5. Number of vineyard passes for picking
50
Q

How are grapes picked?

A

By hand or by machine.

51
Q

Why would a producer harvest their grapes at night?

A

So the grapes are cool during transportation, reducing chance of oxidation and microbial spoilage.

52
Q

Discuss phenolic ripeness vs. sugar ripeness.

A

The level of sugar in the grapes is one of the key parameters that determines ripeness. Once grapes accumulate a certain level of sugar to make a viable product, it’s considered to have achieved ‘sugar ripeness.’ In dry wines, the amount of sugar in the grapes will be directly linked to the alcohol in the wine.

Phenolic ripeness concerns tannins (and to some professionals, aromas). During ripening, tannins polymerise and become less bitter. Producers are generally looking to avoid bitter unripe tannins, and this will therefore play a part in harvesting decisions.

In certain vintages grapes might achieve sugar ripeness due to daytime heat spikes but not achieve phenolic ripeness due to a variety of reasons (e.g. a cloudy or cool growing season).

Certified Sommelier Exam (CMS 2) (49 decks)

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