Maritime Flashcards
NZ
○ cool maritime lat 36-46 S
○ North/South separated by Cook Strait
○ cool Pacific Ocean moderates thus most regions maritime except
Central Otago sheltered from ocean influences by mountains on
all sides is semi-continental
○ cool climate in South Island
○ moderate climates in North Island eg lower lat Auckland and
Gisborne
■ Greater Auckland: once the heart of NZ wine industry tho
most moved to Marlborough/Hawke’s Bay
■ Waiheke Island: close to central biz district, specialize
in Cab Sauv and Syrah, slightly warmer than most
Auckland with low diurnal range - helps mid/late
ripeningblack varietalsto ripen fully - due to
surrounding water, $$$$ bc close to aucklandland
price and transportation+++ Man O’War and
Stonyridge
■ West Auckland: Kumeu River vineyard area probably
will decrease bc urbanization and high cost of land,
thus most source fruit from Marlborough/Hawke’s Bay
Matakana: further to the north, a range of varietals to
sell to strong local tourist trade
■ moderate maritime, high humidity - fungal diseases
■ Hawke’s Bay
■ Moderate maritime ~ Bordeaux, 2180 sunshine hours,
1000mm rainfall
■ Gravel, alluvial soils ~Medoc thus Bordeaux Merlot
blends
■ small amount of Cab Sauv bc difficult to ripen in
cooler years but potential bc improvedplanting
materials, viticultural understanding, warm years’ high
quality fruit
■ Gimblett Gravels: stony topsoils get very warm
during day and release heat into eveninghelping
Syrah, Cab Sauv ripen, free draining: irrigation
necessary even with high rainfall
■ Bridge Pa: deeper topsoil of sand/clay loam
aiding water retention, limiting need forirrigation
■ both inland: warm days, little moderating
coastal influence: frost an issue
■ Both on alluvial terraces with gravelly soils
where closer to coast the moderating influence
of Pacific breezes cool daytime temps thus
slower ripening/fresher Chard/Syrah
■ Wairarapa: low yielding vines bc strong winds from the
Cook Strait during flowering and fruit set, and frost (wind
machines help)
■ wine tourism: close to Wellington
■ cool maritime, large diurnal range, warm summer,
slow ripening retains acid
■ small grape with thick skins: PN with higher levels of
fine grained tannins than other NZ regions
■ Dominant soil: free draining alluvial gravel terraces
with silt loam and loess: cooling influence as take
longer to warm up than rocky soils: slow ripening,
elongate growing season ->
concentration/complexity+++
■ Wellington Wine Country
■ Masterton
■ Gladstone
■ Martinborough
○ NZ vineyards on east of islands: southern Alps protect vineyards
from rains/winds in Tasman seadespite mitigation of rainfall by
mountains still ample rainfall at 650mm
○ high UV radiation (bc hole in ozone layer and low level of air
pollution) -> color/tannin+++ long hoursof sunglight -> increasing
the viable ripening period, large diunral range
○ South Island - Nelson
■ northwest of South Island, not as protected as Marlborough
from cool/wet winds from westthus 970mm rain per year as
sudden heavy storms so still long sunshine hours
■ cool maritime climate, close to coast: cooling sea breezes
during day and warm at nightsmall production
Bordeaux
moderate maritime
○ Atlantic ocean just west - cooling influence
○ best years: gentle heat throughout the growing season, sufficient
rainfall for growth and ripening,fine/dry/warm early autumns for
steady/complete ripening -> excellent balance of tannins,
sugar,acidity -> longevity of great vintages
○ Left bank partially protected from Atlantic storms by pine forest -
the Landes
○ estates fringing forests are cooler -> more marginal eg Domaine
de Chevalier (Leognan), and many in Listrac in Medoc
○ northern Medoc: forest less of a feature, more open to maritime
influence -> cooler than southernMedoc and Graves
○ rainfall variable avg 950mm a year with marked variation from
year to year and the times within a year
○ excessive rain at key moments important in vintage variation:at
flowering: poor fruit set
○ throughtout growing season: fungal disesase
○ at and following veraison: unripe fruit, fungal diseaseat harvest:
dilute flavors
○ climate change -> hot dry summers with insufficient rainfall
○ hardy grape varieties here can resist extremes of temperature
○ but hot dry years 2003 can lead to red/white wines with low acidity
lacking balance, morealcoholic than in the past as growers wait
for phenolic ripeness before picking
○ Frost at times: 1956, 1991, 2017 when crops decimated
○ Hail widespread, destructive
○ In Medoc most prestigious wines close to the Goronde estuary -
moderating influence on the cliamteand protects vines from frost
(but another mile or two to the west can be devastated)
○ Vintage variation by volume is marked -> significant financial
implications
○ frost-affected 2017: 33% less than 10-year average, 40% less
than in large 2016 harvest
Loire
Pays Nantais of Loire: cool maritime - cool springs, warm humid winters,
rain throughout growing season esp March/April affecting flowering, and
September affecting harvest
○ btw Atlantic Ocean influence decreases progressively in Anjou
Saumur (maritime effect) and then Touraine (continental, not as
extreme as central vineyards)
Spain
Basque Country, aka Euskadi or Pais Vasco
○ main vineyard areas split in two by Cantabrian cordillera
○ sheltered conditions to the south are of Rioja Alavesa
○ sheltered to the north around Bilbao and San Sebastian are 3
DOs making Txakoli
○ unsheltered from the influences on the Atlantic
○ the Txakoli (or Chacoli) DOs - moderate maritime climate - rainfall
~ 1600mm per annum -> canopy well ventilated a major
concernto combat fungal diseases [VSP aids air circulation~]
● north-northwest coast of Spain: Atlantic influence, maritime climate with
high rainfall, North/northeast sheltered somewhat from Atlantic by
mountains, continental, tho some maritime or Mediterranean influences
○ Galicia
■ Ria Biaxas DO: most westerly DO bordering Atlantic Ocean:
maritime
■ Ribeiro DO: most westerly just east of southern RB, slightly
more sheltered than RB, maritime with temperate conditions
and high rainfall
■ mainly whites: Treixadura the most planted as single
variety or as lead component in a whiteblend with
Galician varietals
Italy
● Abruzzo - coastal zone is maritime and Mediterranean: lower risk of
spring frost and rain at harvest, higher temp than hillside soils more
fertile, vineyards better suited to high vol production
● Friuli esp south near Adriatic Sea: high rainfall 1200mm 30% >
Bordeaux
○ south: flat plain near the Adriatic Sea - warm maritime climate
where warm air from the AdriaticSea meets cooler influences from
the Alps; high rainfall 1200mm per year - 1/3 more thanBordeaux,
humidity -> extra work to combat diseases and organic viticulture
challenging
USA
● Long Island AVA - the North Fork and the Hamptons sub-AVAs; > 1000
ha under vines; the larger LongIsland AVA captures the wineries
located outside of the sub-AVAs
○ surrounded by water - Atlantic Ocean, Peconic Bay, Long Island
Sound -> maritime climate, long growing season -> able to ripen
black Bordeaux varieties, with Merlot in particular as thesignature
variety of the region, also a range of varieties eg Chardonnay and
Sauvignon Blanc
○ high humidity -> fungal diseases though windy weather in coastal
sites alleviate <- spraying, leaf removal to improve air circulation
around grapes and sorting grapes in the vineyard/winery |organic
grape growing difficult but there are
○ North Fork slightly warmer more protected from Atlantic Ocean’s
weather events <- where most~65%~ vineyards are [vs 5 in
Hamptons]
○ North Fork - sandy soils; Hamptons silt loam soils; both
free-draining and low in fertility ->limits vine vigour
● US - California, still Mediterranean but in Monterey County there’s
maritime influence
○ Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
■ vineyards ~350m near Monterey Bay exposed o winds and
fogs -> vines stomata close,slowing ripening
■ morning sunshine, afternoon maritime breezes
■ Chard, PN, Syrah in more sheltered sites -> fresh fruit, high
acid
Portugal
● Portugual - Vinho Verde
○ moderate maritime due to Atlantic coast, river valleys that funnel
Atlantic winds inlandlands -> east: soils poorer, climate more
continental where warmer drier sub-regions egBaiao, Moncao e
Melgaco -> late ripening grape varietals eg Avesso and produce
wineswith more body and alcohol esp Alvarinho
○ high rainfall ~1500mm: fungal diseases - rot and mildew
○ training method:
■ traditional - vines up trees for air circulation, or on trellises
over terraces
■ most modern vineyards are planted in rows, single/double
Guyot (replacement cane) with VSP or Lyre system
■ all high from the ground for air circulation reducing
rotsummer pruning eg removal of lateral shoots, leaf
removal, green harvesting forproductive varieties to
enhance fruit ripening and improve air circulation
● Portugal - Bairrada
○ west of Dao, maritime climate bc proximity to coast
○ 800-1200 rainfall per annum, some areas 1600mm, mainly in
spring, autumn ->problematic for late ripening varieties like local
Baga
Canada
● British Columbia
○ 1/3 Canada’s vineyards split into two distinct areas
■ close to Pacific coast of a cool maritime climate
■ inland sheltered from any maritime influence by mountain
ranges where Okanagan Valley being the largest
■ further north (48-51N) than Ontario: shorter growing season
but longer days, long hotsummer days and cool nights
create a wide diurnal range: ripe fruit flavors while retaining
acidity
■ Vancouver Island, Gulf Island, Fraser Valley
■ small coastal regions: cool maritime climate
moderated by the Pacific Ocean, mildwinters, cooler
wetter summers than elsewhere BC thus fungal
disease
■ only early ripening varieties do well esp PN in parts of
Vancouver Island
China
○ Shandong: east coast, warm maritime, much wetter with rainfall
coming before/during harvest (worst time) -> rot persistent
Australia
○ inland vast Murray-Darling Basin host continental but most other
regions rely cooling influence from Indian/Southern Ocean
○ rather flat, cooling influences of oceans spread inland: eg
Coonawarra in South Australiahas a maritime climate despite
100km from coast
○ Western Australia
■ Southwest Australian Zone
■ Margaret River: southwestern corner of Aussie, best
known, lat 34S
■ Indian Ocean (north, west; warm - temps do not
drop much at night -> longerripening than
regions with cooler nights -> ripe fruit character
typical in Margaret River wines), Southern
Ocean (south) moderate so that spring frostrare
■ rainfall high >1000m most in winter, dry growing
season at 275mm
■ flat region of gentle hills/valleys 40-90m
elevation
■ long ridge through center of region: shelter
vineyards to the east thus slightlywarmer
conditions
■ free draining gravel soils: irrigation essential
(water from dams from winterrainfall), infertile:
reduce vigor
■ Great Southern
■ Coast: Albany and Denmark maritime climate, rainfall
350m
■ north of Denmark, Mount Baker, Porongurup,
Frankland River: altitude 300m moderates
■ Frankland River: continental wide diurnal range,
rainfall 220m
■ many vineyards dry farmed or minimal irrigation
except Frankland River but irrigation difficult in low
lying areas bc high salinity levels in soil thus water
pumped from further away
○ South Eastern Australia Zone
■ Riverland has a slight maritime influence less hot
○ Mount Lofty Ranges Zone
■ rainfall 280-320mm during growing season bc maritime
influence, majority inwinter/spring sometimes disrupt fruit
set
■ collected in dams for irrigation later
■ humidity high, fungal diseases and rot a concern <- most
spray crops to reducing for sustainability
○ Tasmania: cool maritime bc southerly lat 41-43S
■ westerly prevailing winds from Southern Ocean: high rainfall
mostly on west coast tho
■ Tasmania being a single GI but regions with distinctive
climate/topograph/soils
■ Coal River Valley: southeast close to capital Hobart
■ Tamar Valley
■ Piper’s River: north
■ southern cooler bc lat [site selection to face north/east for
max sunlight, southeast drier lesshumid, northwest humid -
fungal], but some slightly longer hours of sunshine which
helps ripening, spring frost a problem: frost fans or
sprinklers
