Viticulture Flashcards
What is the Italian synonym for free-standing bush vines trained according to the Gobelet system?
Alberello
What are 3 viticultural factors can influence the sugar ripeness of the grape and thus the level of alcohol in a finished wine?
Elevation of Vineyard Weather (Rain, Temperature, Sunlight) Yield Canopy Management Green Harvesting Harvest Dates
What is the composition of alluvial soil?
typically fertile fine-grained soils consisting of mud, silt, sand, and sometimes gravel or stones deposited by flowing water on flood plains, in river beds, in deltas, and in estuaries.
What are the most common American vine species crossed with V. vinifera for the production of American hybrids?
Vitis labrusca and Vitus aestivalis
What are the top 3 rootstocks known for resistance to phylloxera?
Vitis rupestris
Vitis riparia
Vitis berlandieri
Anthesis refers to what part of a vine’s growth cycle?
Flowering
What two factors contribute to the concentration of anthocyanins in grape skins?
Increased sunlight exposure and the accumulation of sugar in the grape during veraison.
Anthracnose or Bird’s Eye Rot / Black Spot affects what part of the vine? How is it conrolled?
Leaves, young shoots, flower cluster stems, and berries appearing as black spots. Controlled by Bordeaux mixture
What part of the vine’s growth cycle does aoûtement refer to? How is this considered an indication of vineyard site quality?
Refers to cane ripening
A marker for identifying a high quality vineyard site. It has been seen that the first vineyards to start Aoûtement or cane ripening and where it proceeds rapidly are those which produce the finest wine. This is because early and rapid aoûtement indicates a modicum of water stress plus generous plant levels of carbohydrates which contribute to rapid fruit ripening. It is for this reason that aoûtement has been incorporated into vineyard scoring systems and used to predict wine quality.
In viticulture what is a strategy to avoid uneven budbreak along a cane due to apical dominance?
Bend the cane into an arched training system so that the middle of the cane is higher than the base and the apex.
What is an arbour?
An overhead trellis structure used for vine training, particularly in southern Italy.
Argilo-Calcaire refers to what soil type?
Soil that is a mixture of Limestone and Clay
Armillaria root rot affects vines most often planted where?
Vines planted where oak trees were previously planted
What does arrachage refer to?
French term for grubbing up vines.
What is aspersion and what is it most commonly used to combat?
Aspersion is the French term for sprinkling and it is most commonly used for the combatting of Frost
In what French regions is the art of Assemblage most vital?
Most common and vital in Champagne and Bordeaux though this terroir-driven approach is present in some regions like Hermitage where JL Chave keeps the vinification of separate parcels separate until a final blending of the best wines is decided upon.
How can acetobacter be kept in check?
Limiting the amount of oxygen will keep this bacteria in check as its existence is dependent on oxygen presence.
What does the Ravaz balance measure?
The ratio of fruit yield to pruning weight
What will happen if too few buds are left on the vine at winter pruning relative to stored carbohydrates? What is the result of the opposite?
Shoots in the spring will grow quickly and have leaves which are too large and stems which are too thick. The vine will have a high leaf to fruit ration, which may result in poor fruit set.
Overcropping is the result of the opposite and the shoots will grow too slow and the leaves will be small and the stems spindly.
What is bench grafting and what are its advantages?
The practice of grafting vines indoors. This lessens the risk of phylloxera and nematodes. Dormant vines are grafted and stored in a nursery where the graft is allowed to callus wherein it is then sealed with wax and sold in the spring.
Guignardi bidwelli is the fungus that causes what vine diesease?
Black rot
What stage of a vine’s life cycle does bleeding take place? What is happening during this stage?
Bleeding occurs when vines lose fluid in spring from pruning cuts
What is the function of the bloom on a grape?
The bloom is a whitish covering consisting of waxes and cutin which protects the berry against water loss and helps stop the penetration of spores. A certain proportion of wild yeast is also present which is often used for wild ferments or whose function is inhibited by more vigorous strains of cultivated yeasts.
What is the French term for debudding prior to flowering?
bourgeonnage
What white grapes are tolerated for Bourgogne Blanc? What about Bourgogne Rouge?
Bourgogne Blanc: Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris
Bourgogne Rouge: César and Tressot
What is the style produced under the Bourgogne Mousseux AOP?
Dry, Sparkling Red with min 9 months on lees and bottled under 3.5 atm
What are the 3 best locations for quality Aligoté?
Chitry in the Yonne
Bouzeron in the Chalonnaise
Pernand-Vergelesses
What are the grape requirements for Bourgogne Passetoutgrains AOP?
Min 30% Pinot Noir plus Gamay
What is BSN?
Bunchstem Necrosis; also known as water berry in California and shanking in New Zealand
What sort of climates is Cane Pruning most common? Spur pruning? Why is this the case?
Cane pruning is more common in cooler climates.
Spur pruning is more common in warmer climates.
By limiting the vine’s lignified growth to the trunk rather than the extremities the vine becomes less vulnerable to frost.
What is berry pinking and what is it the result of?
berry pinking results when grapes are exposed to too much sunlight causing them to lose color on the vine.
What side of the vine is leaf removal common in the first half of the season? Why?
On the east side of the vine so as to protect it from the fierce afternoon sun.
Removal on the west side is more common in the latter part of the growing season to increase warmth during the cooler tail end of the season.
Between what two temperatures is the mean temperature during the final month of ripening ideal?
Between 59-70F
Why do vines in warmer climates need long sunlight hours? What is an example of a warm climate producing table and not fortified wines?
Due to the rate of respiration of the vine being higher in warmer climates.
Hunter Valley GI
How can wind negatively affect the vine and wine quality?
Can cause direct physical damage to the canopy which in turn will affect photosynthesis and expose the fruiting zones to excessive sunlight in the process.
Dry winds can reduce wine quality by increased rate of evaporation and while this is great for lowering fungal disease pressure it can contribute to excessive water stress at the same time.
How has climate change influenced disease pressures presented by vineyard pests?
Pests such as insects are migrating further north and bringing diseases to vineyards that were previously not hospitable for the insect vectors.
Other than total vine death, what is the biggest threat resulting from deep freezes to a grape vine?
The vine can rupture and split open allowing for exposure to bacteria such as those that create Crown Gall
How is clonal selection different than Mass Selection?
In clonal selection, one single superior vine is selected and cuttings from this plant are propagated throughout the vineyard.
Mass Selection involves the selection of multiple superior vines in the vineyard and cuttings from each are propagated around the vineyard.
What is collar rot and how is this treated?
Fungal disease of the vine that largely affects young vines growing in cool, moist soil.
This can be treated by removing soil from the base of the trunk to promote the reduction of soil moisture.
What is the difference between Colluvium and Alluvium in regards to soil?
Colluvium is sediment that has moved downslope under the influence of gravity.
Alluvium is transported by rivers.
Where does the term continental climate come from?
Climate that is defined by its degree of continentality which is defined for any place as the difference between the average mean temperature of its hottest month and that of its coldest month. Continental climates have a wide annual range. Maritime have a narrow range.
What are three conditions presented by climate that can delay or interrupt the ripening period?
Excessive heat can cause the vine to completely shutdown.
Too much water can delay ripening and also dilute the grapes.
Frost at the beginning or end of a season can be detrimental to ripening as it can kill off foliage.
What are the two main sugars found in grapes?
Glucose and Fructose
What are 4 scales used throughout the world to measure the amount of sugar in grapes and fermenting grape must?
Brix
Baumé
Oeschle
Klosterneuburg (KMW or Babo)
Grapes will naturally accummulate between how many Brix in the vineyard? How will a grape obtain a higher Brix level?
Between 22-24
Anything higher is said to be a result of various forms of dehydration
Why are stuck fermentations common in the production of botrytized wines?
Because botrityzed grapes frequently have a higher amount of fructose than glucose. Yeasts prefer glucose to fructose and when glucose runs out stuck fermentations can commonly result.
What is the general rate of sugar accumulation per week in grapes following veraison?
Generally 0.5-1 Brix per week
Phenolic aka Physiological ripeness refers to what?
Maturity of color, tannins, and flavors in grapes.
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is typically harvested by machine due mostly in part by the lack of labor force but partly because of what?
It enhances aromatic properties unique to the style that are difficult to replicate by hand harvesting.
How much faster can mechanical harvesters pick compared to humans?
10-20 times faster.
Cool climate viticultural areas are planted to early or late-ripening varietals?
Early-Ripening varietals such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chasselas, Muller-Thurgau
Why are the red wines produced in cool climates typically quite pale?
Full development of anthocyanin pigments and tannins in grape skins requires greater warmth.
What is one way to reduce the effects of copper toxicity in soil?
Additions of Lime to raise the pH
What is the species of oak that produces cork?
Quercus suber
In what region of Portugal are most of the country’s cork forests?
Alentejo
What type of disease is Corky Bark and which insect is responsible for infection? What are the symptoms of the vine and how is it cured?
Viral disease that is one of a complex of diseases known as rugose wood that comes from the longtailed mealybug.
Symptoms are similar to leafroll virus in that the leaves turn red or yellow and roll downwards in the autumn.
It cannot be cured and if infected vines aren’t removed it can kill of large swaths of vineyard.
