Soils Flashcards

1
Q

Alluvial Soils

A

River deposits
Highly fertile
Often contains gravel, silt and sand

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2
Q

Alluvial soil examples

A

Argentina (Neuquen, Rio Negro)
SW France

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3
Q

Basalt (Volcanic) Soils

A

High in calcium, iron, magnesium
Volcanic

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4
Q

Examples of Basalt (Volcanic)

A

Baden
Soave
Campagnia (Mt Vesuvius)
Tasmania

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5
Q

Calcareous Soils

A

Alkaline
High levels of calcium and magnesium
Cool temperatures, delays ripening
Calcareous clay = high limestone content

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6
Q

Examples of calcareous soils

A

Central Italy: marche, Umbria, Abruzzo

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7
Q

Chalk soils

A

Very porous soft limestone
Good drainage
Good for grapes with high acidity levels

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8
Q

Examples of chalk soils

A

Touraine
Wursburg, Franken

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9
Q

Clay soils

A

Good water retention, poor drainage
Very cool
High in acidity

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10
Q

Examples of clay soils

A

Médoc (clay and gravel)
Right bank (clay and limestone)

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11
Q

Granite soils

A

Warms quickly and retains heat well
High level of acidity - reduces acidity in grapes

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12
Q

Examples of granite

A

Beaujolais cru
Northern Rhône
Portugal (granite and sand)

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13
Q

Gravel soils

A

Good drainage
Poor fertility
Vines go deep for nutrients

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14
Q

Examples of gravel

A

Left bank Bordeaux - best sites

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15
Q

Kimmeridgian Soils

A

Grey coloured limestone based soil
Kimmeridgian clay is calcareous clay containing Kimmeridgian limestone

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16
Q

Kimmeridgian soil examples

A

Loire valley
Champagne
Côte d’Or
Chablis

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17
Q

Limestone soils

A

Consistently alkaline, generally planted with grapes of high acidity levels

18
Q

Limestone examples

A

Barossa
Burgundy: limestone and marl
Vouvray (very well draining)
Pouilly fumé, Sancerre
Southern rhone (limestone and clay)
Gavi

19
Q

Llicorella soils

A

Mix of slate and quartz
Very porous, drains well

20
Q

Llicorella examples

A

Priorat (unique) on bedrock of schist

21
Q

Loam soils

A

Warm, soft, fertile soil
Silt/sand/clay
Too fertile for most high quality

22
Q

Loam examples

A

Marlborough

23
Q

Loess soils

A

Very fine silt based soil, wind bourne sediment
Good water retention and water properties

24
Q

Loess examples

A

Austria for Gruner
Tokaj hill

25
Q

Marl soils

A

Calcareous clay based soil
Cool, so delays ripening
Deep soils

26
Q

Marl examples

A

Piemonte (central valley Barolo, wines are less tannic and more velvety)

27
Q

Sand soils

A

Warm, airy soil
Phylloxera resistant
Drains well, not good at retaining water
Sandstone is sand that has been pressured

28
Q

Sand examples

A

Maipo (sandy and gravel)
Tasmania (sandstone and volcanic)

29
Q

Schist soils

A

Retains heat well
Rich in magnesium
Poor in organic nutrients

30
Q

Schist examples

A

Beaujolais crus
Savennieres

31
Q

Shale soils

A

Fine grain sedimentary soils
Moderately fertile
Retains heat well

32
Q

Shale examples

A

Central Italy (Sangiovese)
Santa Maria Valley (Pinot noir and Chardonnay)
Swartland, paardeberg

33
Q

Silt soils

A

Fine grain deposits
Good water retention
Poor drainage
More fertile than sand

34
Q

Silt examples

A

Tokaj Hill
Castilla y Léon
Willamette - Van Duzer Corridor

35
Q

Silex soils

A

Flint and sand based
Mix of clay, limestone and silica

36
Q

Silex examples

A

Sancerre

37
Q

Slate soils

A

Retains heat well, warms up quickly
Dark slate radiates heat back at night

38
Q

Slate examples

A

Mosel Valley

39
Q

Terra Rossa soils

A

Sedimentary soil
Iron deposits oxidise and turn rusty coloured
Drains well
High in nutrients

40
Q

Terra Rossa examples

A

Some parts of Med
Coonawarra (Cab Sauv)
McLaren Vale