Vineyard Management Flashcards
Does the quantity of the fruit decrease with age of the vine?
Yes
When are most vines replaced?
Between 30-50 years
When do the yields finally start?
Around 3 years after planting
What is a Trellis?
Permanent structure of stakes and wires in vineyard
What is ‘Training?’
The vines permanent wood and cane are trained to follow the trellising system if it cannot grow unsupported
What is ‘Pruning’ and when does this occur?
It is the removal of unwanted leaves, cane and permanent wood.
Either pruned in winter or growing season
Why do they prune in winter and what are the two types of winter pruning?
They prune in winter to see how many buds are left on the vine.
The two types are
- Replacement cane pruning
- Spur pruning
What is Replacement Cane Pruning and what name is it referred to?
One or more canes retained and trained horizontally onto a trellis.
It’s referred to as ‘Guyot’.
One cane ‘Single Guyot’, two ‘Double Guyot’.
What is ‘Spur Pruning?’
A large number of 2/3 bud Spurs are retained, distributed along a permanent cordon of old wood or around head of vine.
Why do they prune in the summer?
To trim canopy to allow sunlight to grapes rather than the growth of shoots and leaves.
Why is Training informant?
It is designed to manage the direction of growth
What is Bush-Training and where is it most practical?
You have the permanent wood as a stump, the Spurs are pruned to retain a certain number around the head of the vine. The shoots from the Spurs are then un-trellised and sprawled across the ground.
This is most practical in hot, dry and sunny regions.
What is Bush-Training also referred to as?
Gobelet
What is VSP? (Vertical Shoot Positioning)
Can be used with replacement-cane or cordon-spur pruning. A single canopy of fruits are trained upwards and tied into place on a trellis.
Canopy may extend both or one side or trunk
What are the advantages of a VSP?
Canes or cordons may be trained low to retain heat from the earth or high trained to avoid frost. VSP is also suitable for conditions where vines are planted to a high density.
What can be done to trellis ‘Big vines’?
You divide the trunk of the permanent wood either side of the trellis and the two permanent cordons are trained in two parallel lines so the vine grows two upright canopies. A lot of permanent wood is needed.
What is the difference between ‘Lyre’ and ‘Geneva Double Curtain’ when trellising big vines?
Lyre is lower trained to the trellis wire and shoots are grown upwards
Geneva Double Curtain is higher trained and shoots grown downwards to act as canopies (curtains) for the grapes
What four aspects need to be considered when making a new vineyard?
- Site selection
- Environmental conditions
- Business considerations
- Grape variety
What is a ‘Pergola’ trained vine and what is it designed for?
Pergola is where you train big vines overhead, almost like an arch but flat across the top.
Designed to allow additional crops underneath the vines
How do you measure vine vigour?
By number and size of shoots and leaves it grows in a season.
High vigour produces more growth
What techniques are used to manage Vigour?
- cover crops
- planting density
- number of buds per vine
- rootstocks
What is Canopy Management and what is it used for?
Helping to shade grapes during ripening.
It’s used to stop grapes burning but won’t slow the ripening period, good to use in hot and sunny areas.
What is another factor on managing ripeness?
Limit the water supply after Veraison begins
What is a ‘Yield’?
A yield is measured by the weight of the grape or liquid per area
What effect can birds and mammals have on a vineyard?
Can increase incidences of rot
What effect can insects and arachnids have on a vineyard?
They can cause fungal and bacterial infection in the grapes
What is Downy Mildew and where does it thrive?
A non-systematic disease which attacks the green part of a vine.
It thrives in warm/humid conditions
What is Powdery Mildew and where does it thrive?
It is a non-systematic disease and develops on green parts of the vine, affecting bud and shoot growth. It can also cause grapes to split.
It thrives in warm/shady conditions
What is Grey Rot, how can it affect immature berries and where does it thrive?
It is a non-systematic disease and attacks the green parts of the vine.
It’s very bad when it attacks immature berries as it taints flavour, reduces yields and colour loss in black berries.
It thrives in damp/humid conditions
What is the same fungus as Grey Rot?
Noble Rot
What are the advantages of Noble Rot to the grapes?
It can produce most of the worlds finest sweet wines.
What does Noble Rot do to grapes?
It punctures the grapes skins and concentrates on the acids and sugars in the grapes.
What is another name for Noble Rot?
Botrytis Cinerea
What happens in the conditions are too wet for Noble Rot to work on grapes?
It can spread rapidly and cause Grey Rot
What two viruses can cause distorted growth of leaf canopies and are highly contagious?
- Fanleaf virus
- Leafroll virus
Which systematic disease is spread by small insects called ‘Sharpshooters’?
Pierces disease.
There is no cure and vine dies within 5 years
What is the name of the systematic fungal infection that attacks and damages permanent wood?
Eytypa Diesack
What can be used to protect the vines from
Birds and other animals?
Nets over vines
What can be used to protect the vines from insects and fungal diseases?
Chemical sprays and natural predators
When can harvesting begin?
When the grower and winemaker believe the grapes have an ideal balance between sugar ripeness and physiological ripeness.
What are the 5 main advantages of machine harvesting?
- It’s quicker
- Essential when bad weather strikes
- You can work overnight allowing grapes to be cool when brought into winery
- Shakes the vine, only collecting the berries and not the stalks
- Best suited to grapes that are not easily damaged and come away from stem easily
What are advantages and disadvantages of Manual Harvesting?
Advantages -
It’s gentler on the grapes and causes less damage on the bunches
Stalks can be retained to help with tannins
Permits a better selection of grapes
Disadvantages -
It’s slower
More cost effective
Cannot do it through the night
