Growing Environment Flashcards
What 5 things does a vine need
- heat
- sunlight
- water
- nutrients
- C02 (carbon dioxide)
Winter =
dormant vines, no green parts
Spring =
budburst, start of growing season, new shoots begin to grow
Late Spring & Early Summer =
vine flowering, small hard green grapes form known as fruit set
Fruit set =
small hard green grapes form from flowers
Summer =
small hard green grapes continue to grow in size, but are still green in colour, high acid & low sugar
Late Summer & Early Autumn =
grapes start to ripen (verasion - colour change), grapes swell with water, sugar rises, acids levels drop, flavours develop - first sign is colour change green to blue/black, pink or golden
Veraison is
colour change in late summer or early fall, grapes change from green and hard to blue/black, pink, or golden
Late Autumn =
harvest, growing season ends, leaves drop
Vine needs heat -
too cold = no growth, struggle to survive
Sunlight converts
carbon dioxide (C02) and water to glucose (sugar) and oxygen
Photosynthesis
uses sunlight to convert CO2 (carbon dioxide) and water to glucose (sugar) and oxygen (O2)
Vine combines Glucose & Nutrients
to support growth and MOSTLY to ripen grapes
Nutrients come from the
SOIL
Oxygen is lost through
leaves
Temps below
50F too cold for vines to grow
Sufficient heat needed for
successful flowering, fruit set, and ripening
Riesling can thrive
in cooler climates
Grenache needs
warmer climates
Factors affecting heat include
Latitude
Altitude
Ocean currents
Fog
Soil
Aspect - face equator
Latitude
(30d to 50d)
Altitude
Cafayate in northern Argentina, higher altitude moderates heat
Ocean currents
Humboldt - Chile, Benguela - South Africa -cooling
Gulf Stream - NW Europe - warming
Fog
Helps cool an otherwise hot area
top vineyards in California
Casablanca Valley - Chile
Soil
dark, stone & rock = absorb and re-radiate heat = ripen fruit in cooler climates
high water content - delay bud burst = heats slowly
Priorat Spain - stony soil
Aspect - slope face
Mosel, DE - steeper slopes, facing equator
Esp. important in cooler climates
Steeper slopes benefit even more
Continentality
Variation of heat between seasons (summer and winter)
Diurnal range
Variation of heat between daytime and night-time
High continentality
big range between seasonal temperature ranges
Low continentality
less variation in temperatures throughout the year
Seas, lakes, and rivers help
moderate continentality
Seas, lakes, and rivers
heat up and cool down more slowly than landmasses
Seas, lakes, and rivers
warming effect in winter
Seas, lakes, and rivers
cooling effect in summer
Heat
Sun
Reflected from soil (stones/dark soil)
Winter warming from large bodies of water
Carbon Dioxide
CO2 - from atmosphere
Sunlight
Reflected from water
Sun
Oxygen
from photosynthesis
leaves combine CO2 & water to produce glucose (sugar) and oxygen
Water
rainfall
irrigation
water stored in soil
Nutrients
soil particles
humus (plant & animal)
fertiliser
Large bodies of water
lower continentality
Far inland locations
high continentality
Continentality determines
length of growing season
impact on total heat available to a fine
successful grape varieties here
Cool nights help
slow loss of aromas and acidity
Warm nights
accelerate ripening
Large diurnal range
fresher wines
more aromatics
Proximity to water bodies
reduce diurnal range - limit changes in heat and cool because water heats and cools more slowly
Water bodies help
keep warm at night
cooling breezes during day
Cloud cover (near seas and lakes)
affect diurnal range - clouds insulate, rise more slowly during day, sunlight cannot heat ground directly
Temps drop more quickly on clear nights
increasing diurnal range
Temps Below -4F
serious damage or kill vines
Earthing up - piling earth around graft
helps protect vines from winter freeze
Mild or no winter
> one crop per year
- no vine dormancy
- vines life shortened
- grapes will suffer
- larger insect pests to attack the vine in summer (don’t die off b/c no winter
Spring frosts
below 32F
freeze water vapor near ground
kills new bud burst or shoots
damage yield
4 Ways to minimize frost risk
Heaters
Wind machines
Sprinklers
Vineyard design
Heaters minimize frost
by creating air movement preventing cold air from settling
Wind machines minimize frost
large fans, draw warm air from above to keep ground level temps from freezing, some have heaters
Sprinklers minimize frost
by spraying water onto vines, as it freezes, it releases some heat into the plant tissue protecting buds and shoots
Vineyard design minimizes frost by
plant on slopes, avoid depressions, vines trained higher than frost levels
cold spring temps may
delay budburst
shorten growing season
limits full grape ripening
Flowering and fruit set
disrupted by cold temps, result smaller than average grape crop