Vineyard Management Flashcards
Site selection criteria
Environmental conditions
Business considerations
Grape variety
Environmental conditions (site selection)
Temp
Rainfall
Sunlight
Drainage
Soil fertility
Planting density
Training and trellising
Business considerations (site selection)
Proximity to infrastructure
Workforce availability
Accessibility for machinery
Cost of the land
Grape variety (site selection)
Must suit climate
Demand for grapes
Possible EU restrictions on varieties that can be used
New vineyard creation
Clear of existing vegetation
Test soil fertility and apply necessary fertilizers
Plant young vines (maybe pregrafted and in plastic sleeve)
Irrigate (if allowed)
Average vine replacement age
30 to 50 years
Effect of age on vines
Decreased yield
Increased disease risk
Fallow time
3 years after vines are dug up
Main vine management techniques
Training
Pruning
Trellising
Planting density
Main vine management goal
Maximize production of fruit at desired quality as economically as possible
Vine training
Shape of the permanent wood
Head training
Cordon training
Both can be high or low trained
Head training
Little permanent wood (possibly only trunk)
Either spur or replacement cane pruned
Cordon training
Trunk with on or more permanent horizontal arms (cordon)
Usually spur pruned
Takes longer to establish but is easier for machine harvesting
Vine pruning
The removal of unwanted leaves, canes, and permanent wood
Occurs every winter and summer
Winter pruning
Determines number and location of shoot forming buds in spring
Important that buds are not close together (helps with canopy management)
Spur
Replacement cane
Replacement cane pruning
One or two canes tied to trellis (Usually on head trained vines)
More complex than spur pruning
Requires large workforce to choose and train suitable canes
Guyot is example
Summer pruning
Trimming canopy
Restrict vegetative growth
Direct sugar production to grape
Leaf stripping to optimize sunlight exposure
Trellis
Permanent structure or stakes and wires
Supports replacement canes and vine’s growth
Beaujolais trellising
Usually untrellised
Head trained and spur pruned
Gobelet
Gobelet
Head trained and spur pruned
Tips tied together
Reduces shade and increases airflow
Beaujolais
Benefits of trellising
Control sunlight in canopy
Improve air circulation
Aid mechanization
Vertical Shoot Positioning
Shoots trained vertically and tied into place
Forms single narrow canopy
Keeps canopy open, aerated, and shade free
Either replacement cane or spur pruned
VSP in hot climates
Tips flop over to provide extra shade
Hectare
A 100m by 100m square
Key density critera
Water and nutrient availability
Low water availability = low density
Low nutrient levels = better quality if with sufficient rainfall
High nutrient level and sufficient rainfall
Found most in New world
High density not enough
Multiple cordons and canes allow for good quality at high yields
Yield measurements
Weight (tonnes per hectare)
Volume (hectoliters per hectare)
Green harvesting
Yield control
Remove immature grapes after veraison
Risky because vine can compensate for loss by increasing remaining grape size
Nematodes
Microscopic worms
Attack vine roots
Interfere with water and nutrient uptake
Can transmit viruses
Sanitize soil and use resistant rootstocks
Birds and mammals (pest)
Consume grapes
Half eaten grapes can lead to fungal disease
Netting for birds
Protective fencing for animals
Insects (pest)
Feed on grapes and leaves
Insecticides
Integrated pest management
Downy and powdery mildew
Affect all green parts
Grapes lose fruity flavors
Give mouldy bitter taint
Love warm and humid
Grey rot
Caused by botrytis cinerea
Taint flavors and lead to color loss in black grapes
Loves damp conditions
Fungal disease treatment
Fungicides
Bordeaux Mixture (powdery mildew)
Fungal disease prevention
Canopy management (open with good airflow)
Viruses
Most reduce yield and quality without killing
Spread by cuttings and nematodes
No treatments or cures
Dig up vine and sanitize land
Bacterial disease
Most reduce yield and quality
Some can kill
Often spread by sharpshooters
No treatments or cures
Quarantine
Removal
Methods to reduce chemicals in vineyards
Sustainable
Organic
Biodynamic
Sustainable agriculture
Manmade chemicals ok with restricted use
Encouraged to know lifecycles of pests and weather
Integrated pest management
Integrated pest management
Increase pest predators through biodiversity
Organic agriculture
More hardcore than sustainable
Few traditional treatments allowed in small quantities
Accreditation required
No universal definition (except conversion period)
Biodynamic agriculture
Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun
Organic with philosophy and cosmology
Uses preparations
Machine harvesting
Shaking grapes off of vines
Collects both healthy and unhealthy grapes and MOG
Only good on flat or gentle slopes
No whole cluster (Beaujolais or Champagne)
Benefits of night harvesting
Saves money and energy spent on lowering grape temp
Slows oxidation
Whole cluster harvesting technique
Always hand harvested
Cost difference hand harvest vs. machine
Hand harvest is 10x more expensive
Machine harvest benefits
Cheaper
Faster
Night harvest
Can harvest at the optimum time, not over several days
Machine harvest downsides
Rougher on grapes
No whole cluster
Only works on flat land
Only works with well-ordered and trellised vineyards
No grape selection
Breaks skins on some of grapes (oxidation risk, no carbonic)
