The growing environment Flashcards

1
Q

What 5 things does a vine need?

A

Sun, carbon dioxide, nutrients, water, and heat.

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2
Q

How does heat impact the vine?

A

If temp is beloc 10 C (50F) it is too cold for the vine to grow Vines are dormant in winter ass a result and budburst happens in the spring. Also needs heat for successful flowering, fruit set, and ripening. Heat determines which grape varieties can be grown where. E.g. reisling needs cool climate and grenache needs heat.

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3
Q

What are the 9 factors affecting heat?

A
  1. Latitute (30-50)
  2. Altitude (increased altitude, decreased temperature)
  3. Ocean currents, localised warming or cooling
  4. Fog, cooling
  5. Soil, dark in colour or high stone or rock content absorv and reradiate more of the suns heat than lighter coloured soils. High water content soil require more energy to warm up, can delay budburst.
  6. Aspect, facing equator get most heat. Steeper slopes benefit even more from aspect.
  7. Continentality and Diurnal range, variation in temp between summar and winter, datytime and nighttime.
  8. Temperature hazards
  9. Growing season.
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4
Q

Describe continentality:

A

Continentality - the temp diff between coldest and hottest months. Regions with low continentality see less variation in temps throughout the year. Large bodies of water heat up and cool down more slowly than landmass, have wamring effect on surrounding air in winter and cooling effect in summer. Regions more inland higher continentality as a result.

Continentality determines growing season length, impacting amoutn of heat available for vine, influencing what grape varieties can be successfully grown somewhere.

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5
Q

Describe diurnal range:

A

Diurnal range - Daytime vs. nighttime temps, cool nights help slow loss of aromas/acid in teh grape during ripening. Warm nights accelerate ripening. Region wtih warm or hot climate, vineyard with larger diurnal range can produce fresher and more aromatic wines compared to vineyards with smaller range.

PRoximity to water also impacts, warming affect at night and coolin gin daytime.

Cloud cover also impact (nearer to seas and lakes generally), temps drop more quick on clear nights (no cloud to insulate wramth, increasing diuranl range) and rise mroe slowly on cloudy days as sunlight cannot hit ground directly (reducing diurnal range).

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6
Q

What are the most common temperature hazards?

A

Winter, (temp fall below -20 C), damage or kill vine, most at risk part is the graft. Earth can be used to voer up and protect the graft, “earthing up”. If winter too mild, vine won’t have dormant period and may produce more than one crop each year. Life shortened and quality of grapes suffer. Also mean larger populations of insect pests survive to attack the vine the following summer.

Spring frosts - Cold air below 0 C collects at grond level, ferezing any water vapor that has settled on the ground or the vine. If this happens to newly burst buds or young shoots will kill them.

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7
Q

What are the four ways to protect against sprign frost?

A

Heaters - movement in air prevents cold air form settling causing frost
Wind machines - vineyards at risk from frost, large fnas that darw warm air from above to keep the temperature at ground level above freezing. Some incorporate heaters.
Sprinklers - spray water on to the vine, as the water freezes it releease soem heat into the plant tissue protecting the buds and shoots.
Thoughtful vineyard design - e.g. planting on slopes, vienyards on middle of slopes are noticeabbly less at risk from frost than those in lower lying areas (cool air drops). Also train vines high to avoid the worst cold air closer to soil.

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8
Q

How does growing season impact the vine?

A

Cold temps in spring may delay budburst, shortening growing season, maybe not enoguh time to ripen flly in the autumn before gets cold again. Flowering and fruit set can be disrupted by cold temps, resulting smaller than average grapes

Hot temps in summer can be harmful, prolonged periods of extreme heat all vine activity will slow and eventually stop, even when there is sufficient water. Extreme cases vine will die. Hot and dry also means icnreased fire risk. Smoke can also impact grapes, smoky or plastic like aromas in final wines.

Some methods to limit impact of smoke tainted fruit but it’s difficult.

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9
Q

How does sunlight impact the vine?

A

photosynthesis, more light means more photosynthesis and greater amoutn of glucose produced for growth and ripening grapes. Cloudy and foggy will lead to a reduction in photosynthesis and hence sugar accumulation. Flowering and fruit set also benefit greatly from plenty of sunlgiht.

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10
Q

What factors impact sunlight?

A

Latitude (day lenght of summer growing season longer the further vineyard is from the equator).

Seas and lakes - vineyards near large bodies of water tend to experience more cloud cover, vs. regions in center of land masses tend to be sunnier. Above rivers or lakes can benefit from sunlight reflected from the surface of the water.

Aspect - steeper slopes benefit more from sunlight, as well as which way facing (towards equator)? The great distance from equator the weaekr the sun’s energy, so for suns closer to poles, maximising the sunlight with a favourable aspect is especially important.

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11
Q

What are hazards in the growing environment from sunlight?

A

Low light levels, slwoing of photosynthesis by heavy cloud cover can stop grapes from fully ripeneing.

Intense sun can cause sunburn, bitter flavours in grape skins. Vine canopy management key.

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12
Q

How does water affect the growing environment?

A

Photosynthesis, swells grapes during ripening.

Water in through roots up to leaves. Lost via evaporation via transpiration from leaves. Warmer means mor eaevarpoation at faster rate, needs more water from soil to compenate.

Once sufficient canopy of leaves, limiting water supply can be beneficail for grape ripening, focus on grapes rather than further shoot growth, also added benefit of reducing impact of shading as no more canpoy growth.

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13
Q

How do we bring water to vineyards?

A

Rainfall and irrigation (laws are in place to monitor irrigation usage).

  1. Drip irrigation - each vine has dripper that can be computer controlled to ensure the vine gets the optimum water amount. Most common
  2. Sprinkelers - pump water and shower over vines, water wastage. Damp conditions in the vineyard. Can also be used for frost protection.
  3. Flood irrigation - only in flat or genetly sloping vineyards, access to large quantities of water.
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14
Q

What are common water hazards?

A

Drought, too much water (flooding), hail

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15
Q

What is climate vs weather?

A

Annual pattern of temperature, sunligh and rainfall averaged out over several years. Doesn’t change from one year to the next, can alter of longer periods.

Weather is the annual variation that happens relative to the climatic average.

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16
Q

Name the four climate classifciations and when the growing season occurs in south vs. north hemisphere?

A
  1. Cool Climates - average growing temp is 16.5 C or below.
  2. Moderate climates - 16.5-18.5
  3. Warm climates - 18.5-21

4 Hot climates - > 21

april to OCtober
October to April

Climate classification als needs to incorporate how temp varies through out the year (continentality), during a day (diurnal range), and also level and timing of rainfall and sunlight.

17
Q

Describe the 3 main climate categories:

A
  1. Continental, greatest difference between hot and cold months (high continentality), short summers with large drop in temp in autumn. Cool continental e.g. risk spring frost, better suited to varieties that bud late and ripen early. Dry summers generally.
  2. Maritime climate - cool to mod temp, low annual difference between hot and cold months (low continentality). Evenly spread rainfall through the year, moderates temp. Warm enough for grapes to ripen far into autumn, rainfall in spring and summer can be harmful for floweringm fruit set and heatlh of grapes at harvest.
  3. Mediterranean climate - low temp diff between cold and hot months, summers warm and dry, med, coastal cali, chile, south africa, and australia. Extra warmth and sunlight compared to maritime climates leads to wines that are fuller bodies, riper tannins, higher alcohol, and lower levels of acidity. Lower level rainfall can have postive efect on the health of grape but also lead to drought.
18
Q

How does soil impact growing enviornment?

A

Provides ater and nutrients, critical role.

19
Q

Discuss soil composition/

A

Sits above underlying bedrock, few centimeters to seveeral meters deep. Tiny particles of various sizes, larger stones and rocks and humus (organic matter such as decomposing leave, animal matter, rich in nutrients and excellent water retention capabilities),. Compsition of soil and size of particles within it very important.

Stones > sand > clay.

20
Q

How does water and nutrients in soil impact grape growth?

A

Stored in soil by binding to caly or humus particles, if soil contains too much clay it can be waterlogged, killing vine roots. Conversely, sand and stone don’t hold water well, drainage. Too much stone/sand, too much drainage not enough water retained, irrigation may be required. Many of best soils mix of sand and clay, known as loam. Soil type suitability depends on climate.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Naturally occuring in soil, don’t need high lievel to thrive. Can be depleted over time and need to be replaced naturally or wtih fertiliser.

Chlorosis is common symptom linked to lack of nutrients, leaves turn yellow and vines ability to photosynthesis is restricted.