The Vine

Question 1

Why is American root stock grafted on to V.vinifera?

Answer 1

American vines are resistant to Phylloxera

Question 2

Besides color and flavor, what else would a grower consider when selecting a grape variety?

Answer 2

• Budding and ripening times
• Resistance to certain diseases

Question 3

What is a cutting?

Answer 3

A section of a vine shoot that is planted and then grows as a new plant

Question 4

What are clones a result of?

Answer 4

Mutations that sometimes occur as a vine grows

Question 5

A positive vine mutation could result in…?

Answer 5

• Better quality fruit
• Disease resistance

Question 6

What is a clonal selection?

Answer 6

When vines with positive mutations are selected for further propagation by cutting or layering.

Question 7

Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier are all mutations of which grape variety?

Answer 7

Pinot

Question 8

What is cross-fertilization?

Answer 8

When pollen from the male part of the flower of one vine is transferred to the female part of the flower of another vine and fertilization occurs.

Question 9

True or False: A cross fertilization of the same grape varieties will not produce a new variety.

Answer 9

False. A new variety is produced even if the parents were of the same variety.

Question 10

Why do new grape varieties rarely come to market?

Answer 10

Consumer resistance to new varieties

Question 11

What is found along the length of each shoot on a vine?

Answer 11

Leaves, buds, tendrils, and flowers or berries

Question 12

The green parts of the vine grow new every…

Answer 12

Year

Question 13

What is the scientific name for a bud?

Answer 13

Embryonic shoot

Question 14

Where do buds form on the vine?

Answer 14

In the joint between the leaf and the shoot

Question 15

What are the purpose of the tendrils on the vine?

Answer 15

To grip a supporting structure to keep the vine upright

Question 16

What are the leaves main purpose?

Answer 16

Photosynthesis

Question 17

What is photosynthesis?

Answer 17

When plants use the sun to covert water and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen.

Question 18

What are the two main purposes of glucose?

Answer 18

• Support vine growth
• Sweeten grapes

Question 19

What part of the vine are the reproductive organs?

Answer 19

The flowers

Question 20

True or False: The flowers have both male and female parts.

Answer 20

True

Question 21

What is the scientific name for the bunches of flowers on a vine?

Answer 21

Inflorescences

Question 22

What happens to a successfully pollinated flower?

Answer 22

It becomes a berry

Question 23

What happens during the winter after the shoots have grown? What are they called the following spring?

Answer 23

They turn woody; One-year wood

Question 24

What happens to the buds after the one-year wood develops?

Answer 24

They burst into shoots

Question 25

Why is managing the one-year wood vital for growers?

Answer 25

Because vines will normally only produce fruit on shoots that grow from buds that developed the previous year.

Question 26

Every winter the vine is pruned and the one-year wood will either be called…?

Answer 26

A cane or a spur

Question 27

What is a cane?

Answer 27

Long one-year wood with 8 to 20 buds

Question 28

What is a spur?

Answer 28

Short one-year wood with only 2 or 3 buds

Question 29

What is permanent wood? What parts of the vine is it?

Answer 29

Wood that is more than one year old; the trunk and arms of the vine

Question 30

What is the function of the roots?

Answer 30

- To absorb water and nutrients - Anchor the vine - Store carbohydrates for the vine to survive during the winter

Question 31

When a new variety is produced from two parents of the same species it is called…?

Answer 31

Crossing

Question 32

A vine whose parents come from two different vine species is called a…

Answer 32

Hybrid

Question 33

Typically, a hybrid vine will have at least one ________ vine as a parent.

Answer 33

American

Question 34

Although hybrids are rarely used in winemaking, they play a crucial role in modern grape growing because…?

Answer 34

They’re used throughout the world as rootstocks

Question 35

True or False: Phylloxera is native to North America.

Answer 35

True

Question 36

What century was Phylloxera first introduced to to the vineyards of Europe?

Answer 36

19th century

Question 37

What happens during the first phase of phylloxera? How does infection take place?

Answer 37

It lives underground and feeds on the roots of the vine; infection enters through the feeding wounds

Question 38

How long does it generally take Phylloxera to weaken and kill the vine?

Answer 38

A few years

Question 39

American vines are able to fend off Phylloxera louse by…?

Answer 39

- Clogging it’s mouth with a sticky sap - Forming protective layers behind the feeding wounds to prevent secondary infections

Question 40

Phylloxera is found almost all over the world. What places are the exception?

Answer 40

Chile, parts of Argentina and South Australia

Question 41

Grafting American rootstock onto European rootstock protects the vine from Phylloxera while keeping…?

Answer 41

The flavors of the European vine

Question 42

Besides protection from Phylloxera, specific rootstocks are also used to…?

Answer 42

- Protect against nematodes - Provide better resistance to drought

Question 43

What is grafting in a nutshell?

Answer 43

A technique used to join a rootstock to a V.vinifera variety

Question 44

What is the most popular grafting technique?

Answer 44

Bench grafting

Question 45

What is this a description of? Short sections of cane from both the V.vinifera and the rootstock variety are joined together by machine and stored in a warm environment in order to encourage the two parts to fuse together.

Answer 45

Bench grafting

Question 46

When would head grafting be used over bench grafting?

Answer 46

When a grower with an established vineyard decides to switch grape varieties between seasons

Question 47

What is this describing? An existing vine is cut back to its trunk and a bud or cutting of a new variety is grafted on to the trunk.

Answer 47

Head grafting

Question 48

If head grafting is successful, when will the new vine start to produce fruit?

Answer 48

The next vintage

Question 49

It takes a newly planted vine a minimum of ______ years to produce enough fruit for a commercial crop.

Answer 49

3

Question 50

Why would a grower choose to head graft?

Answer 50

- To quickly adjust to changes in market demand - It’s cheaper than replanting the entire vineyard - New variety will start with an already established root system