Natural Factors in the Vineyard that can influence style, quality and price of a wine Flashcards
What is the one natural factor in a vineyard that does not change.
CO2
What are the four natural factors in a vineyard that are constantly changing
Temperature, Sunlight, water and nutrients
What is the natural factor during the growing season that determines which grape varieties can grow where
The amount of heat
What are the six factors that affect heat during the growing season
Latitude, Altitude, Ocean currents, fog, soil, aspect
Most vineyards sit between what latitudes
30 degrees and 50 degrees
What does temperature do when altitude increases
temperatures drop
How do ocean currents affect heat?
Major currents transport large volumes of cold or warm water across surface of ocean leading to localised warming or cooling in certain wine regions.
What is a natural factor that can help cool in an area that may otherwise struggle to produce high-quality grapes?
Fog
What are two examples of ocean currents that cool regions that would otherwise be too hot?
Humboldt Current off Chile and Benguela Current off South Africa
What is an example of an ocean current that warms a region that would otherwise be too cold?
The Gulf Stream warms NW Europe
What are a few examples of areas where fog is very important to keep vines cool?
California and Casablanca Valley in Chile
What type of soil assists in ripening fruit in cool climate regions ?
Either dark colored soils or soil that has high stone and rock content which absorbs and/or radiates heat more than light colored soils.
What can happen when a soil has high water content?
They require more energy to heat up and conduct heat from the vine more quickly than dry soils, this can delay budburst
What is the direction in which a slope faces?
Aspect
Vineyards with an aspect facing XYX get the most heat.
Equator
In what climate is aspect most important for ripening?
Cool climate
What is an additional natural factor in a cool climate that can even enhance the effect of a positive aspect?
A steep slope, example is the Mosel, German
Two natural factors that affect heat?
Sun and reflection from soil
Two natural factors that affect sunlight?
Sun and reflection from water
What is the primary concern of a grape grower during the growing season?
Overall amount of heat
What are two other factors heat related that can impact how well a vine performs in a region?
Continentality and diurnal range
The temperature difference between the coldest and hottest months?
Continentality
What is low continentality?
Regions with less variations in temperature throughout the year
What type of natural factor can have both a warming effect during the year and a cooling effect during a year?
Proximity to a large body of water
Vineyard regions near large bodies of water generally have what type of continentality?
Low continentality. The water has warming effect in winter and cooling effect in summer.
Vineyard regions that are inland generally have what type of continentality?
High continentality and extreme temperature changes
What will determine the length of the growing season of a region?
The continentality
The length of the growing season has what impact on the vine?
Total heat available to the vine
What is the difference between daytime and nighttime temperature?
Diurnal Range
What temperature factor helps slow the loss of aromas and acidity in the grapes during ripening?
Cool nights
What temperature factor helps accelerate ripening?
Warm nights
In a warm or hot climate, what factors can exist to ensure your wines are fresher and more aromatic?
Large diurnal range or cool nights
Vineyards near seas and lakes have what type of diurnal range?
small diurnal range
Other than climate, What is another natural factor that influences diurnal range?
cloud cover
What can cloud cover influence?
At night, it acts as insulation and keeps vineyards warm (decreasing diurnal range) and in the morning it can keep the sunlight from hitting the ground (decreasing diurnal range)
What are the temperature hazards that face a vineyard?
Freeze, Spring frosts, too mild of winter, cold temps in spring, hot temps in summer
What is the temp that a vine can be seriously damaged by freeze or killed
-20c
What part of the vine is most at risk when a freeze occurs?
The graft
What is the process used to protect the graft in the event of a freeze?
Earthing up
What happens if winter is too mild?
The vine may not have a dormant period causing lower quality grapes and more exposure to insects
What is a spring frost?
When cold air below 0 degrees celcius collects at ground level. Kills newly burst buds or young shoots
What are four ways to minimize risk of spring frosts?
Heaters, Wind machines, sprinklers and thoughtful vineyard design.
Where is frost most likely in a vineyard?
The lowest point on the vineyard as cold air sinks
What affect does cold temperatures in spring have?
May delay budburst, shortens growing season
What affect does hot temperatures in summer have?
slows vine activity and delays ripening, can kill vines
What are three factors affecting sunlight?
Latitude, Seas and Lakes, Aspect
How does latitude affect sunlight?
Day length during the growing season is longer the further the vineyard is away from the equator
How do seas and lakes affect sunlight on vineyard?
Vineyards near large bodies of water experience more cloud cover, In some cases, vineyards situated about lakes or rivers can benefit from sunlight reflection off the water
What can a grapegrower do to maximize sunlight in cloudy areas or protect grapes from sunburn in sunny regions?
Canopy management
What is transpiration?
When a vine access water through its roots and draws the water up through its leaves
Once the canopy has grown what can a grapegrower due to enhance grape ripening.
Limit further water so that the vine focuses its energy on ripening the grapes and not growing more leaves
What are the three supplemental ways to water a vineyard other than rain?
Drip Irrigation, Sprinklers and flood irrigation
What is the most advanced and most expensive watering system?
Drip Irrigation
Most common way to water vineyard?
Sprinklers, but wastes lots of water
Cheapest way to water vineyard?
Flood Irrigation
What are the three water hazards a vine can experience?
Drought and Too much water, hail
What does a drought do to a vine?
Stops transpiration, ultimately will stop photosynthesis
What does too much water do to a vine?
Vine becomes too vigorous and grows shoot and leaves leaving less sugar for the grapes which causes problems for grapes to ripen
Name 2 negative rain events
1) during flowering or fruit set (reduces crop), 2)Heavy rain before harvest (causes grapes to swell and split
What are three factors that determine an overall climate for a region?
Temperature, sunlight and water availability
Difference between a region’s climate vs region’s weather?
Climate does not change, but the weather is the annual variation that happens relative to the climatic average
How do you define a region’s temperature?
The average temperature during the growing season. (April to October)
Cool climate temperatures?
Below 16.5 degrees celsius
Moderate climate temperatures?
Between 16.5 and 18.5
Warm climate temperatures?
Between 18.5 and 21
Hot climate temperatures?
Excess of 21
Characteristics of a continental climate?
high continentality, short but dry summer with large autumn drop in temp, high risk of spring frost.
What types of varietals are best suited for continental climate?
Varieties that bud late and ripen early
Characteristics of maritime climate?
cool to moderate temperature and low continentality, rainfall spread through year moderates temperatures
What type of varietals are best suited for maritime climates?
Varieties that are thick-skinned and ripen late in the season,
What are the characteristics of a mediterranean climate?
low continentality, summers are warm and dry,
Name some regions with mediterranean climate?
coastal California, Chile, South Africa, South Eastern Australia
What types of wines are produced in mediterranean regions?
extra warmth and sunlight leads to full bodied wines, riper tannins, higher alcohol and low acidity
What is the most crucial element of soil composition?
The size of the soil particles. Stones are largest, then sand, then clay
What is the ideal watering plan for a vineyard?
Good supply of water during the early season then followed by mild stress after veraison
Type of soil that holds water the best?
Clay
Type of soil that provides the best drainage?
Stones and sand
What is loam?
It is generally the best soil type which is a mixture of sand and clay particles that gives good drainage but also retains enough water
What are three most important nutrients for soil?
Sodium, Potassium and Phosphorus
What is chlorisis?
When a vine is lacking nutrients, leaves turn yellow and vine cannot photosynthesize
When selecting a site for a vineyard, what three things need to be considered?
Environmental conditions, business considerations and grape variety
What is business considerations when choosing a vineyard site?
proximity to utility infrastructure, (power, water etc), availability of vineyard workforce, accessibility of machinery and cost of land
When does first yield come in a newly planted vineyard?
In the 3rd year after planting
Most vines are replaced after how many years?
Between 30 and 50 years old
What are the four main techniques to managing a vine?
Training, pruning, trellising and density of planting
Two types of vine training?
Head training and cordon training
Which type of vines have little permanent wood?
head trained vines
How are head trained vines pruned?
Either spur pruned or replacement cane pruned
Which type of vine has a lot of permanent wood?
Cordon trained vines
How do you usually prune cordon trained vines?
spur pruned
What are the two styles of winter pruning?
spur pruning and replacement cane pruning
What is the main purpose of winter vine pruning?
To determine the number and location of the buds that will form shoots in the upcoming growing season
What is the main purpose of summer pruning?
Trimming the canopy to restrict vegetative growth and direct the sugar production to the grape
What is the benefit of trellised vines?
They can be machine harvested, can control the amount of sunlight the grapes receive, improves air circulation
Where are untrellised vines best-suited?
Hot sunny places such as Southern Rhone or Barossa Valley in Australia, extra shade is necessary
What is the most widely used trellis system?
Vertical Shoot Position (vsp)
What are the factors you should consider when deciding how densely to plant the vines?
Availability of nutrients and water, high density helps check vigor, or low density helps in situations of limited water availablity
Name some common vineyard pests?
Nematodes (worms), birds and mammals, insects
Name some common vineyard diseases?
Phylloxera, down and powdery mildew, grey rot
How can you use canopy management as a way to fight disease?
An open vine canopy creates more airflow which promotes evaporation and keeps conditions more dry
What are three options that grapegrowers can use to reduce chemicals in their vineyards?
Sustainable agriculture, Organic agriculture and biodynamic agriculture
Difference between sustainable ag and organic ag?
man-made chemicals are not prohibited in sustainable ag but their use is restricted, certification is required to call yourself organic
What is biodynamic ag?
Organic practices that also incorporates philosophy and cosmology where the vineyard is seen as part of a connected system with the planet.
When are grapes ready for harvest?
When the grape has achieved the ideal balance of acid, sugar, flavor and tannins that are ideal for the intended style of winemaking.
Can a machine harvest grapes with whole bunches?
No
what are two examples of wines that require whole bunches?
beaujolais and champagne
What are some examples of steep vineyards where only hand harvesting is an option?
Mosel, Germany; Douro in Portugal, Northern Rhone in France
What are the natural factors in the vineyard that influence the vine?
species, varieties, clones, crossings, hybrids, green parts, one year old wood, permanent wood
What five natural factors does the vine need?
Warmth, sunlight, carbon dioxide, nutrients, water
What are the six phases of the vines growth cycle?
Dormancy, budburst, flowering, fruitset, veraison, ripening
What are the six components of the grape?
water, sugar, acids, colours, tannins, flavor
What are the seven climate options?
Cool, moderate, warm, hot, mediterranean, continental, maritime,
Factors influencing the regional climate?
Latitude, altitude, oceans, large lakes, aspect, continentality, diurnal range
Factors influencing site climate?
Aspect, soil (heat and drainage) fog, bodies of water
What affect can weather have on the wine production?
Vintage variation
What two critical things does the soil impart to the vine?
Water supply and nutrients
