Viticulture Flashcards
What are the “Factors of Production”
Location/Geography Climate Topography/Aspect Soil Grape varieties planted Viticultural practices Vinification practices Harvest Yearly weather/vintage variation Terrior Regional Wine Laws Historical Background
What is Viticulture?
Viticulture is the art - and science - of vine growing.
What is the most important thing climate determines in viticulture?
Wine style
Most vine growing occurs between which latitudes?
30 degrees - 50 degrees
Climate of an entire wine region
Macroclimate
Climate of a particular vineyard
Mesoclimate
Climate of a single row of vines
Microclimate
Cool climate characterized by strong annual variation in temperature due to the lack of proximity to significant bodies of water.
Continental
Moderate climate influenced by a large body of water
Maritime
Warm climate with hot dry summers aside from the immediate coastal areas.
Mediterranean
Hot climate with high daytime temperatures and dramatic drops overnight
High Desert
The difference between average daytime high and nighttime low temperatures
Diurnal Shifts
Sunshine hours
The number of sunshine hours a region or winery receives in a given year or growing season
Frost, freeze, hail and strong winds are examples of
Climate threats
Climate moderators
Bodies of Water
Mountains
Altitude/Elevation
Wind
What is “Rain Shadow”?
A dry area on one side of a mountain opposite the wind, rain and poor weather.
How much rise in elevation will cause a temperature drop of 1 degree?
100 meters
This climate moderator can either cool or warm a growing area.
Wind
Benefits to steep hillside topography
Better drainage of soil and lower chance of frost
Drawbacks of steep hillside topography
Soil is less fertile due to erosion & vines are more difficult to harvest and maintain
Valley floors have fertile soils but are susceptible to this climate threat
Frost
What is the aspect of a slope?
The direction it faces with regards to the sun
Important properties of soil
Drainage
Water retention
Sun reflection
Types of soil
Granite Limestone/chalk Marl Schist Clay Sand Silt Gravel
Grape skins contribute what to wine?
Tannins, color and flavor
Pulp contributes what to wine?
Water, sugar, acids and seeds
Genus of wine grapes
Vitis
Most common species of wine grape with over 10,000 varieties.
Vitis vinifera
Viticultural propogation is
Grape vine breeding
Vines of two or more different species combined to create a new variety
Hybrid
Vines of the same species combined to create a new variety
Cross
Identical genetic reproductions of a single vine
Clone
Cool climate impact on wine
Grapes ripen more slowly and moderately Less sugar produced Acidity remains high Less alcohol potential Flavors are more tart and lean
Warm climate impact on wine
Grapes ripen fully More sugar is produced Acidity is lower Higher alcohol potential Flavors are more ripe, lush and juicy
How vines in the vineyard are laid out
Vineyard architecture
How are vines managed to control production of grapes, leaves and wood?
Vine training
How is yield measured per acre?
Tons of grapes
How is yield measured per hectare?
Hectoliters
How is yield measured per vine?
Pounds or kilos
What is a green harvest?
A crop thinning method of dropping or cutting unripe clusters off the vine before harvest.
What is the benefit of a green harvest?
The vine can focus it’s energy and nutrients into fewer, higher quality clusters.
Managing the growth of vines to allow optimal sunlight and airflow
Canopy management
Providing the vine with water
Irrigation
What is Phylloxera?
This is a vine louse that destroyed a third of the world’s vines beginning in the late 1800s. It was one of the greatest threats to wine production in history.
Chemicals or organic matter added to the soil to improve the nutrition it provides to the vines.
Fertilizer
What is harvest?
When and how grapes are picked from the vines.
Ways to determine grape maturity
Sugar ripeness
Physiological Ripeness
Tannin Ripeness
Name three positive effects of wind in a vineyard.
Cooling, Warming, Drying
Name three wine regions of the world that are affected by rain shadows.
Alsace
Columbia Valley
Piedmont
Yakima Valley
What is terroir?
Terroir is the entire set of factors that influence the development of the vine’s fruit and the characteristics the fruit will show once vinified.
