WSET Diploma Viticulture Flashcards
What 3 factors can affect sunlight?
Latitude - Day length greater further from Equator
Seas, Lakes and Rivers - Near large bodies of water more cloud cover, Centre of landmasses tend to be sunnier
Aspect - A slopes aspect affect the amount of sunlight, steeper slopes = more benefit
What is the purpose of the California Heat Summation index?
How does this index work?
To classify vine-growing areas by temperature and thereby reccomend appropriate grape varieties for cultivation.
- Divides climates into five Regions based on the number of degree days.
- Degree days are calculated by multiplying the days in each month of the growing season (defined as April 1 through October 31) by the mean number of degrees over 50°F for that month.
- The months’ totals are then added together to arrive at the heat summation:
How does Phylloxera kill vulnerable vines?
How did Phylloxera first reach Europe?
- It feeds on the roots of the vine allowing infections to set in meaning, over the course of a few years, the vine dies.
- The louse came over on American vine cuttings that were imported to the Southern Rhone Valley in the 1860s.
The Picture Below is an example of what type of training?

Head Training
At what age are most vines replacedWhat are the pros / cons of ‘old vines’
Most replaced between 30~50 Years
Old vines produce higher quality fruit (more concentrated flavour) partly due to lower yield per vine.
Lower yield might not be cost efficient andolder vines more susceptible to disease
What climate type is this?
High Continentality, low rainfall and a very sunny growing season
Continental
Name 3 diseases that threaten vines and how they are controlled
Powdery and Downy mildew - Likes warm, humid environments. If affected grapes lose fruity flavour.
Powdery treated with sulfur based spray. Downy treated with Bordeaux mixture copper based spray. Can also be managed by canopy management to max air flow * More spraying in Maritime climates where there is more rainfall.
Black rot (Guignardia bidwelli) - The disease originates as a black spot on the vine’s shoots, leaves, and berries. Yield reductions can be disastrous if unchecked; it can be controlled through fungicide sprays.
New grape varieties can be created through cross pollination. What is ‘cross pollination’?
The pollen from the male part of the flower of one vine is transferred to the female part of the flower on another vine and fertilisation occurs.
Name the 2 most common training techniques for vines
Head training - Little permanent wood (some only trunk), then shoots are trained
Cordon training - Trunk plus one or more permanent horizontal arms (cordons). Takes longer to establish but makes mechanisation easier
What climate type is this?
Low to medium Contintality, low to medium rainfall mainly in Winter and a sunny growing season
Mediterranean
Identify 2 examples of Mediterranean Climate for the following temperatures:
Moderate
Warm
Hot
Mod -> Chianti, Carneros
Warm ->Chateauneuf, Napa Valley
Hot -> Murray-Darling, Calabria
Which soil type has the largest warming effect?
Gravel
Which of the following inputs to a vine will vary least from season to season?
CO2
Heat
Sunlight
Nutrients
CO2
Identify 3 methods of controlling the yield of grapevines:
Green harvest
Winter pruning
Irrigation
In which regions has Phylloxera not reached?
Why?
Chile, some parts of Argentina and South Australia.
Some parts of Lisboa, Portugal, due to sandy soils.
Some volcanic islands, such as Santorini.
It hasn’t reached due to strict quarantine procedures and inhospitable climate.
Why is vine bud management important?
What happens if there are too few / too many buds?
The vine stores Carbohydrates over Winter.
If too few buds each will have access to too much energy and will grow too vigorously.
If too many buds, each will not have access to enough energy and the vine will struggle to ripen its crop load.
What are 3 agricultural practices that reduce intense chemical usage?
Sustainable agriculture - Chemicals permitted but minimised by growers understanding life cycles of pests and introducing predators of the pests. Monitor weather to prevent pest or disease before it occurs.
Organic agriculture - Small doses of traditional treatments permitted only.
Biodynamic agriculture - Organic practices + philosophy and cosmology. Cycles of planets, moon and stars plus homeopathic treatments.
Put the growth cycle in order
Veraison, Budburst, Flowering, Fruit set, Ripening
Budburst, Flowering, Fruit set, Veraison, Ripening
Budburst, Flowering, Veraison, Fruit set, Ripening
Budburst, Veraison, Flowering, Fruit set, Ripening
Budburst, Flowering, Fruit set, Veraison, Ripening
How can VSP (Vertical Shoot Positioning) be used in hot, sunny climates and why would a grower choose to use this system?
The method is adapted so the tops of the shoots are not tied but allowed to flop over creating some shade in the canopy to protect fruit.
A grower would choose this system to enable mechanical harvesting.
Frost flows in a similar way to
Ice
Water
Steam
Water
Describe the annual cycle of vine
Spring
Late Spring / Early Summer
As Summer progresses
Late Summer / Early Autumn
Later in Autumn
Spring - Budburst, new shoots begin to grow
Late Spring - The vine flowers and small grapes form
Summer - Grapes grow but still hard in texture, high acid/low sugar
Late Summer/Early Autumn - Grapes ripen, sugar rises, acidity drops and flavours develop. Marked by grape colour change; véraison
Later in Autumn - Grapes harvested
What is the difference between Climate and Weather?
Climate - Annual weather pattern over several years
Weather - Variation in a specific year
In hills and mountains, as the altitude increases what happens to temperature?
It decreases
What are the vineyards 4 natural resources?
Temperature, Sunlight, Water, Soil nutrients


