Climats Flashcards
What are the 5 most important things a vine needs to survive?
Heat
Water
Sunlight
Nutrients
Carbon dioxide
Finish this equation:
Sunlight + CO2 + Water = ____ and ____
Glucose and Oxygen
Vines use ___ and ___ to fuel its growth and ripen its grapes.
Glucose and nutrients from the soil
Oxygen is one of the byproducts of photosynthesis, but vines don’t use oxygen.
What does the vine do with the oxygen it creates during photosynthesis?
The vines release it through their leaves.
What is the defining factor that determines which grape varieties can grow where?
The amount of heat an area gets during its growing season.
Something to keep in mind: continentality + a region’s proximity to bodies of water are tied into this because they help influence the region’s total amount of heat during the growing season.
What 7 natural factors affect/influence temperature and heat in a vineyard?
Latitude
Altitude
Ocean Currents
Fog
Soil structure
Slopes and aspect
Diurnal range
What 3 factors affect/influence sunlight in a vineyard?
Latitude
Bodies of water
Aspect
What are the optimal latitudes for growing vines around the world?
Between the 30th and 50th latitudes north and south of the Equator.
Put another way, between latitudes 30 and 50 degrees in the northern and southern hemispheres.
Why isn’t it possible to cultivate grape vines close to the Equator?
Because areas close to the Equator have annual average temperatures that are far too high which do not allow the vine to go dormant. And if a vine is unable to go dormant, it’ll produce less-than-optimal fruit and tire out in only 15-20 years.
Fun Fact: there is one place in Northern Brazil, Vale de São Francisco, that is capable of two harvests per year.
How does altitude affect temperature?
As altitude increases, temperature decreases.
Altitude is what allows some regions to exist closer to the Equator, e.g. Cafayate, Argentina which sits ~3,000m above sea level.
What is the effect of the Gulf Stream on Europe?
The Gulf Stream adds a warming effect to the climates of northern and western Europe.
The Gulf Stream originates near the tip of Florida and crosses the Atlantic Ocean.
What is the cold ocean current that affects South Africa?
Benguela Current
Name the cold ocean current that affects Chile.
Humboldt Current
How can fog be beneficial to vineyards?
It can have a cooling effect on vineyards which would otherwise have difficulty growing premium grapes (the vineyards would get hot and stay hot).
How can rocky/slatey/stony soils affect a vineyard’s temperature?
Rocky, slatey soils - stony or dark in color - absorb heat during the day, and release it overnight.
Examples include:
Galets roulés in Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blue slate in the Mosel Llicorella soil in Priorat
Which way do vineyards face in each hemisphere to ensure optimal sun exposure?
Vineyards in both hemispheres will face the Equator for optimal sun exposure.
Northern hemisphere vineyards will face south.
Southern hemisphere vineyards will face north.
What is a diurnal shift?
A diurnal shift is the change in temperature from daytime to nighttime.
The larger the diurnal shift (lower lows, higher highs) the better it is for the vine; warm daytime temps help develop sugar and phenolic ripeness whereas cool nighttime temps help preserve acidity and freshness.
What are two things that can reduce diurnal range?
A vineyard’s proximity to a body of water
Cloud cover
Besides decreasing diurnal range, how else does cloud cover affect a vineyard/vines?
SLOW FLOWERINF AND FRUIT SET because the vine is not getting enough sunlight to photosynthetize, which ultimately produces a smaller crop;
Heavy clouds can STOP GRAPES FROM FULLY RIPENING.
What does continentality mean?
It is the difference between the coldest month and the hottest month in a region.
Regions with high continentality have big differences.
What effects do bodies of water (oceans, lakes, rivers) have on climate?
Bodies of water HELP MODERATE TEMPERATURES, REDUCING CONTINENTALITY ie temperatures will be neither extreme lows nor severe highs.
Vineyards in close proximity to bodies of water have diminished diurnal range as large bodies of water emit stored warmth at night (and during the beginning of winter) and supply cool daytime breezes.
Describe lake effect.
As large bodies of water take a long time to warm up and coll down, LAKE EFFECT HAS A MODERATING EFFECT ON CLIMATE.
In autumn, a lake that has warmed up during the summer releases its accumulated warmth to the surrounding land thereby extending the growing season for grapes and keeping away early frosts.
During spring and early summer, the lake is still cold from the winter. As the land around the lake heats up, warm air rises from the earth which sucks in the cool air coming from the lake, creating on-shore breezes.
At what temperature can vines be damaged or killed by a deep winter freeze?
-20
The part of the vine that’s most susceptible to winter freezes is the ___.
GRAFT (if the vine has been grafted)
