HSC People and Economic Activity Flashcards
Viticulture - Climate: Temperature
Ideal is 19 degrees for white grapes and 21 for reds. At ideal sunlight and temperature the vine produces the sugar needed for plant growth, influencing colour and flavour
Viticulture - Climate: Sunlight
Due to photosynthesis plant growth determined by amount of sunlight. This makes aspect of slopes important eg. in Australia north and west facing gets more
Viticulture - Climate: Wind
Excessive winds can damage grapes and also cause erosion via the removal of topsoil. Therefore, vineyards are rarely in high wind areas.
Viticulture - Climate: Rainfall
Vines need approximately 700mm a year. In Australia, this is an issue, thus irrigation is required. Heavy rainfall can also cause major problems (erosion, fruit damage).
Viticulture - Climate: Frost
Vines damaged when temps drop below -1. Especially in late autumn and early spring. Soil management, irrigation etc. used to alleviate the impact of frost.
Viticulture - Climate: Soil
- Suitable viticulture soil is generally not fertile or especially deep
- Depth of soil determines root system
- Deep soil = bulk wine production, bigger roots and grapes but worse quality.
- Better for red wines.
- Shallow soil = high-quality wine, though less of it. Better for whites.
- Soil determines wine quality by water supply and temperature in and above soil
Viticulture - Climate: Topography
- Elevation, aspect and incline of the vineyard must be taken into account
- Plain, flat land better than on undulating, sloping contours to prevent erosion
- The direction the vines are facing can affect vines growth rate and quality (aspect)
- Slope assists with drainage but a steep slope is susceptible to erosion altitude can impact temperature and therefore control the character of the grapes via the location above sea level
Viticulture - Climate: Diseases and Pests
- Grapes are vulnerable to a range of diseases, many influenced by the climate eg.
- More humid summer = more diseases
- Fungus parasites are responsible for most grape diseases
- Diseases spread by insects or in the soil which makes them hard to control
- Fungal disease ‘downy mildew’ common in hunter valley; associated with high rainfall in the growing season
- Some diseases have been used to good effect g. Botrytis bunch root increases sugar.
Viticulture - Climate: PESTS
- Grape Phylloxera – Worst grape pest worldwide.
- Mematode – Soil dwelling pest. Worm less than a millimetre long. Present in most soils.
Viticulture - Ecological Factors: Sustainability
- Ecological sustainability - Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, while enhancing quality of life now and into the future.
- Ecological dimension
- The relationship between people and the environment and the effect they have on each other.
- Ecological concerns associated with viticulture include:
- Increasing pest resistance to chemicals
- Soil compaction and erosion
- Poor water infiltration
- Low levels of organic matter in soils
- Excessive water use
- Excessive use of nitrogen-based fertilisers (nitrate leaching)
Viticulture - Ecological Factors: Resource Use
- Organic wine - production of wine excluding the use of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. The volume of wine, which is being organically produced, has been increasing rapidly as they become more than just a ‘healthy choice’. Organic viticulture includes non-intrusive soil management process, using strategies that minimise the use of pollutants.
Economic Factors:
The general level of economic activity:
positive relationship between economic growth rates and wine consumption. As disposable incomes increase, so too do discretionary purchases of goods.
Shifts in consumer demands: keeps the market dynamic. Innovative styles and types of wines, and cheaper prices are popular with customers. Increasing Concentration Retail Power: because their purchasing power, large retailers are able to demand greater product consistency (hence shift from estate to branded) and favour higher quality wines (undermines branded wines).
Competition between the new and old world: drives down prices
Branding and marketing: labels and names now recognised globally
Consumer demand:
- The majority of the wine produced is consumed in the producer’s domestic market.
- The International Trade in Wine Is Increasing, with New World producers building Thai market share. The Volume and Value of global imports and export shave grown, despite a decline in the quantity of wine consumed in some key markets, Spanish and Italian declining by 0.6 and 0.4Mhl. Production in the US increased 6.9% to 20.5Mhl, Chile 12.6Mhl up 20%, Australia 11.6Mhl up 4.2%.
Define Competitive Advantage:
Competitive advantage:
- A competitive advantage exists within the industry with advantages relating to natural conditions, location and the existence of a skilled workforce
- Australia’s wine industry has been growing since 1990 and is beginning to experience a greater number of strengths in terms of physical, human and market factors. Australias wine industry is strongly competitive because its strengths across the board
Future Directions
The challenges facing the global viticulture and winemaking industries are complex and include:
- Tensions between traditional winemaking techniques and new ‘industrial’ production processes
- Changes in the spatial patterns of production and consumption:
- A decline in consumption in traditional winemaking and wine-consuming countries. European vineyards decreased by 32Mha (0.8%) between 2011-12.
- New emerging markets in Asia. Top 23 world wine buyers account for 91% of total imports in June 2013, slightly below the share of 2012.
- Increased competition from New World ‘branded’ wines. Vineyards outside Europe have slightly grown between 2011 and 2012 (+15Mha). Asian and American vineyards stable and increasing.
- Changes in consumer tastes and preferences, especially among the young.
- Competition from other alcoholic beverages.
- The process of globalisation and the emergence of global wine companies
- Changes in the marketing and retailing of wine.
- Ecological sustainability concerns: that is, minimising the environmental impacts of grape growing and winemaking
- The potential disruptive impacts of climate change
The global viticulture industry should continue to grow and expand both spatially and economically in the future. Globalisation increases demand for wine and allows producers to share knowledge. Therefore, new world producers should continue to emerge.
Spatial Patterns of Viticulture
- Major growing regions are located between 30th and 50th degrees of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, where mean temperatures are between 10 and 20 degrees and rainfall is adequate
- Grapes are sometimes grown beyond this range and wine is sometimes made in unexpected places
- In these areas, grape growers have been able to adapt to the natural conditions
- Major wine producing and grape growing countries include Europe, North America, Australia, South America and South Africa
- Some of the world’s most famous wine-growing regions are France’s Loire valley and the regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne; Italy’s Tuscany, Umbria and Veneto regions; Germany’s Rhine valley; California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys; Australia’s Hunter and Barossa valley
Viticulture
The production of an alcoholic beverage via the crushing and fermentation of grapes
Winemaking
The cultivation and harvesting of grapes
Grape growing is a highly specialised agricultural system. Those managing the system need to be skilled in all aspects of the process, including:
- site selection and vineyard design
- species selection
- monitoring and control of pests and diseases
- fertiliser application
- irrigation
- plant management
- monitoring of fruit development
- deciding when to harvest
Growth of Grapevine
It can take up to five years for a grapevine to develop and produce its first crop. Grapes develop at the end of the vine’s yearly life cycle, and each stage of the development is dependent on the previous stage. The vine draws its energy from the surrounding natural environment. The root system, for example, absorbs water and minerals from the soil.
Budburst is the first sign of the annual growth of the vine. The buds swell and open allowing the new green shoots to break through. From flowering to harvest the growth cycle take approximately 100 days.
Grape Quality
The quality of the grape crop is determined by a number of factors. These include:
* nutrient and water availability
* the nature and extent of the plant’s root system
* the amount of solar energy available to support the process of photosynthesis.
A series of actions must take place in the vineyard throughout the year. These are important to the development of the vines and are largely influenced by seasons and environmental seasons.
Tamburlaine CASE STUDY:
Locational Factors
- Tamburlaine is located 32º47’ South and 151º18’ East, 121 kilometres North of Sydney in the heart of the Hunter Valley of NSW, Australia.
- Established in 1966, Tamburlaine is both a medium-sized vineyard and winery 100 metres above sea level in the Hunter Valley with 13 hectares under-vine, as well as a much larger, 200-hectare site in Orange NSW between 400 and 700 metres of elevation.
- Read - Tamburlaine buys Boomey Vineyard, 21 November 2021 (Links to an external site.)
Tamburlaine CASE STUDY:
Biophysical Locational Factors
- The biophysical environment impacts on and contributes to the nature, spatial patterns and future direction of Tamburlaine.
- The winery’s topography involves undulating slopes. It has an incline of 1% and is 110 metres above sea level. It is north-east facing and these characteristics that contribute to the nature and spatial patterns of Tamburlaine wines.
- Tamburlaine experiences a moderate climate with hot summers (average temperature around 23°). It has an approximate annual rainfall of 750mm, and provides the ideal climate for growth and development. Frost can occur in autumn however it is not common and the biggest threat to the winery is wind due to its unpredictable nature.
- Tamburlaine experiences diminishing soil levels which was a driving force behind the enterprise becoming organic, as the type and quality of the soil will greatly affect the taste of the vintage. Mulch and compost are used to top up the soil.
- Tamburlaine soil is composed of red duplex soil, with shallow and clay based soils towards the western edge while it also has some sandy loam soil due to its proximity to the Hunter River.
- Pests and diseases are not that common although they include Downey Mildew, Bunch Roots and Apple Moth. Due to the fact that the winery became organic, agrochemicals cannot be used to prevent pests. Natural spray and fertilisers are used instead to control them.
- The alternate methods in which Tamburlaine controls these problems is through raising trellises and regular pruning, (allowing for sunlight and wind), planting ground cover crops to suppress weeds and also the introduction of natural local predator bugs to naturally fight off unwanted pests. The distribution of sheep to eat pests (grazing) also provides a good source of natural fertilisers.
- These locational factors contribute to the nature of the winery and impact on its future directions.
Tamburlaine CASE STUDY:
Rainfall
- Both primary activity locations receive rainfall below the recommended level of precipitation of 700mm/annum (Orange;440mm, Hunter Valley: 540mm). Irregular rainfall in the Hunter Valley also means that exposure to periods of drought is a significant environmental constraint.
- A grape is made of 70% water, therefore access to adequate rainfall is important in the primary stage both in a natural form of precipitation and in a supplementary form of irrigation.
- Tamburlaine has introduced recycled water management and micro drip-irrigation systems to overcome the constraint of lack of water resources, such as the probiotic aeration pond (where wastewater is collected), which filters out toxins and bacteria to create nitrogen rich water fertiliser that helps irrigate the grapes.
Tamburlaine CASE STUDY:
Soil Quality
- The quality of the red duplex loam soil at Tamburlaine was noticeably poor, lumpy and hard creating many issues.
- The soil lacks nutrients affecting the development of tannins in the grapes, and the hardness makes it difficult for water to filter.
- To supplement the soil, Tamburlaine incorporates companion planting in every second row, designed to add organic content, increase fertility and water retention.
- To enrich the soil, Tamburlaine have developed organic biologically degrading compost “MARC”, made out of disregarded stems, seeds and vines, which provides the soil with nutrients from natural sources.
