Viti 2: The Vine

Question 1

Family to which Vitis Vinifera belongs

Answer 1

Vitaceae (family of woody climbing plants)

Question 2

Prompt buds

Answer 2

Buds that break in the same year as their formation

Question 3

Latent buds

Answer 3

Buds that break in the spring in the spring that follows their formation

Question 4

Transpiration

Answer 4

The process by which leaves evaporate water, in turn enabling the plant to suck up water from the soil

Question 5

Petioles

Answer 5

Leaf stalks. Can be analysed to determine nutrient requirements of the vine.

Question 6

Flowers

Answer 6

Grouped bunches called inflorescences and are hermaphroditic.

Question 7

Budburst:

Answer 7

Carbohydrates stored in roots throughout winter return to the trunk and canes as sap to give nutrients.

Question 8

Winter dormancy:

Answer 8

Leaves fall off and shoots lignify (harden and brown).

Question 9

Coulure:

Answer 9

Poor set brought about by poor light levels.

Question 10

Millerandage/hen and chicken:

Answer 10

Small berries with no seeds and big berries with seeds all on same bunch brought about by low temperatures.

Question 11

Vieilles vignes in German:

Answer 11

alte Reben

Question 12

Hybridisation between species:

Answer 12

Interspecific hybridisation

Question 13

Vitis riparia

Answer 13

Wild on river banks in alluvial soil, central-eastern N America. Phylloxera resistant, grafts well, low in vigour, ripen early, but suffer chlorosis (iron deficiency) in chalky soils. Good for controlling vigour. Rootstocks tolerant of damp.

Question 14

Vitis berlandieri

Answer 14

Found on chalky slopes in southern USA and Mexico. Vigorous, deep-rooted and resists chlorosis. Cuttings don’t root well, so often hybridised with riparia/rupestris. High calcium tolerance.

Question 15

Introduction of downy mildew in Europe from USA

Answer 15

1878

Question 16

Name of downy mildew

Answer 16

Plasmopara viticola

Question 17

PDO wines in Europe

Answer 17

Cannot be hybrid

Question 18

Crosses occurring within same species (one variety with another):

Answer 18

Intraspecific vinifera crosses

Question 19

Louis Bouschet - Aramon x Teinturier =

Answer 19

Petit Bouschet

Question 20

Henri Bouschet (son) - Petit Bouschet x Grenache =

Answer 20

Alicante Bouschet (rich in anthocyanins in pulp and skin, deep red).

Question 21

Group name for anthocyanin-rich black grapes:

Answer 21

Teinturiers

Question 22

Hermann Müller (from Thurgau, Switzerland) in late C19th

Answer 22

Riesling x Madeleine Royale (table grape) = Müller Thurgau

Question 23

Mass selection/sélection massale:

Answer 23

Marking out best plants from which to take cuttings. Best done in poor years and involves eliminating plants rather than actively selecting them.

Question 24

Cloning:

Answer 24

Come from single parent and have same genetic identity. Propagated vegetatively. First carried out in 1876. Risks high yields and easy spread of disease.

Question 25

Why are Vitis berlandieri and rotundifolia layered rather than rooted from cuttings?

Answer 25

They respond better to layering rather than rooting from cuttings.

Question 26

Layering:

Answer 26

Only suitable for areas with no phylloxera risk. Famous example: Bollinger’s Vieilles Vignes Françaises.

Question 27

Cuttings:

Answer 27

Hardwood winter cuttings normally used. Taken in autumn/winter when carbohydrates are highest and is healthy. Softwood harder to propagate, but available all year round.

Question 28

Length and treatment of cuttings:

Answer 28

30-45cm pieces. Stored at 5 degrees. Heat treatment at 50 degrees for 30 minutes and kills pests, phylloxera, nematodes and phytoplasmas.

Question 29

Growing cuttings:

Answer 29

Plenty of water, as leaves grow faster than roots (mist propagation/propagating frame). Warmth (15-25 degrees) from below, if possible, to encourage roots. Loose, well-drained soil protected from vine weevils.

Question 30

Benefits of grafting:

Answer 30

Resistance to phylloxera/nematodes, roots become better adapted to soil conditions (e.g. high lime content) and better control of vigour.

Question 31

Bench grafting:

Answer 31

Indoors, late winter/early spring. Scions put in damp sawdust and soaked 1-2 days to make less brittle. Done by machine. Molten paraffin wax applied just below graft union. Stored in crates, humidity controlled at 90%, temp. at 21-29 degrees for 3-5 weeks. ‘Callus’ of cells forms at union. They’re then removed, trimmed, re-dipped and put in cold store (1-4 degrees) and put in pots (18-21 degrees for 7-10 days). Can be put in greenhouse (‘forced’) and thus plantable within 10 months.

Question 32

Top/head-grafting:

Answer 32

Useful for changing varieties in an established vineyard. Scion cutting collected in winter, stored at high humidity and low temps. Almost complete decapitation! Chip-budding and T-budding possible (inserting bud onto existing trunk). Cleft-grafting rare and involves sawing vine trunk vertically and inserting canes. Good for young vines in warm climates, aftercare is vital.

Question 33

Vitis rupestris:

Answer 33

Wild in light soils in southern centre of USA. Vigorous, deep-rooted, phylloxera-resistant, but risk chlorosis. Good for poor soils with little water. Rootstocks are drought-tolerant.

Question 34

Vitis labrusca:

Answer 34

Wild in NE USA. Strongly-flavoured, dark berries, ‘foxy’. Not used widely as a parent.

Question 35

Two subdivisions of Vitis vinifera:

Answer 35

Vinifera sativa: hermaphroditic.

Vinifera silvestris: not hermaphroditic and largely wiped out by phylloxera.

Question 36

Chardonnay:

Answer 36

Hardy, but prone to grey rot.

Question 37

Liebfraumilch:

Answer 37

Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Kerner.

Question 38

Sauvignon Blanc:

Answer 38

Susceptible to black rot and powdery mildew.

Question 39

Trebbiano also known as…

Answer 39

Ugni Blanc

Question 40

Pinot Noir:

Answer 40

Takes up autolytic flavours well (sparkling).

Question 41

Cabernet Sauvignon:

Answer 41

High vigour, but low yields.

Question 42

Merlot:

Answer 42

Buds early (prone to spring frost) and prone to coulure.

Question 43

Syrah:

Answer 43

Can develop reductive (mercaptan) flavours.

Question 44

Grenache:

Answer 44

Oxidises easily. Known as Cannonau in Sardinia.

Question 45

Names for Tempranillo:

Answer 45

Tinta Roríz (Douro, Dão), Aragonéz (Alentejo), Ull de Llebre (Catalonia), Cencibel (Valdepeñas) and Tinta del País/Tinta de Toro (Ribera del Duero/Toro).

Question 46

Zinfandel:

Answer 46

Ripens unevenly, can give excessive alcohol.

Question 47

Ruby Cabernet:

Answer 47

Carignan x Cabernet Sauvignon - low acidity, soft tannins. Prone to powdery mildew (oidium).

Question 48

Cost of grafting:

Answer 48

Grafted vines can cost 4-5 times as much as ungrafted cuttings.

Question 49

Phylloxera first identified in Europe:

Answer 49

1863

Question 50

Phylloxera symptoms:

Answer 50

Vines die of drought in growing patches, roots infected with insects and their eggs, nodosities (growths on root tip), tuberosities (swellings on roots) and pale green leaf galls.

Question 51

Discovery of resistance of American vines:

Answer 51

Leo Laliman (Bordeaux), 1872

Question 52

Why are American species resistant to phylloxera?

Answer 52

Their roots have hard, corky layers beneath where the insect feeds. Also keep other infections out.

Question 53

Only other ways to combat phylloxera:

Answer 53

Grow on sandy soil or flood the vineyard for 40 days a year!

Question 54

Nematodes:

Answer 54

Tiny roundworms. Some feed off roots (pratylenchus and meloidogyne) and others spread viral diseases (xiphinema index).

Question 55

Excess acidity in soil:

Answer 55

Aluminium toxicity

Question 56

Excess salinity in soil:

Answer 56

Disrupt nutrition and water intake.

Question 57

Rootstocks and soil depth:

Answer 57

Shallow-rooting stocks used in shallow soils and vigorous, deep-rooting rootstocks used in deep soils.

Question 58

Why might weak vigour rootstocks be used in cooler climates?

Answer 58

Because they encourage earlier ripening.