Viticultural/Vinification Flashcards
What is viticulture?
Viticulture is the art and science of vine growing.
Its farming
What are the factors of production that go into viticulture?
location/geography climate topography/aspect soil grape varieties viticultural practices vinification practices harvest yearly weather/vintage variation terroir regional wine laws historical background
Most vine growing occurs between what latitudes?
30 degress - 50 degress latitudes in the northern and southern hemispheres
When did man first domesticate vitis vinifera?
nearly 5,000 years before the common area
What is vitis vinfera?
a species native to the Mediterranean, Europe, and southwester Asia
Life cycle of the vines begin in what season with bud break?
Spring
What is the first step in bud break?
“weeping or bleeding”
watery sap from pruned canes sometime in February (northern hemisphere)
average air temp surpasses 50 degrees
What is the second step in bud break?
occurs in march or april
first small shoots and leaves will break through buds left in tact by winter pruning
- at this stage the vine is vulnerable to frost
What is the 3rd step in bud break?
- vines foilage continues to develop through early spring
- small green clusters called embryo bunches form on the shoots by mid april
What is the 4th step in bud break?
- flowerin occurs 6-13 weeks after the initial bud break depending on climate
- during this period the embryo bunches bloom into small flowers for about 10 days
- the self-pollinating grapevine begins the process of fertilization
What happens after the vine starts to fertilize?
- fruit set usually hovers around 30% - the remaining embryo berries “shatter” falling from the cluster
- as berries enlarge through July, they remain hard, high in acid, and low in sugar
What happens to the vines typically in August?
Veraison begins and the grapes begin to truly ripen, as sugars are moved from the leaf system to the fruit
What is veraison mean?
grapes begin to ripen
What happens during veraison?
- grapes soften and change color
- turning from green to red - black, yellow - green and acidity decreases
- version affects an individual grape so it may unevenly affect a whole bunch
What is Cane Ripening?
- occurs in tandem with veraison, as the shoots begin to lignify (convert into wood)
- accumulating carbohydrates to sustain the plant through the winter
What does Vendange mean?
to harvest
When is harvest typically in the Northern Hemisphere?
August - November
What happens to the vines after harvest?
vines lose their leaves in autumn and enter a period of winter dormancy
- fertilization may be applied in the fall after harvest and vines will be pruned over the winter
What is Physiological ripeness mean?
- a concept of ripeness comprising not only must and weight and Ph, but also ripening of tanning and other phenolics
- the condition of the berry and its pulp and seed
- lignification - which often requires longer “hang time” for the grapes on the vine
What temperatures do vines prefer?
- an average annual level between 58 and the 68 degrees with an ideal 57 degrees
to successfully ripen:
red grapes - average summer temp of 70 degrees
whites grapes - average summer temp of 66 degrees
What is the California Heat Summer Index?
- classifying the climate solely by temperature and therefore recommending grape varieties based on temperature
Please talk about the chart of the California Heat Summer Index.
- 5 regions based on number of degree days
- degree days are calculated by multiplying the days in each month of the growing season (April 1 - Oct 31) by the mean number of degrees over 50 degrees for that month.
- The months totals are then added together to arrive at the heat sum.
Attached is the image of the heat index.
What is the minimum amount of sunshine required to support viticulture?
1,300 hours