Human factors in the vineyard

Question 1

Element to assess for new site

Answer 1

(i) Environmental condition - use data to work on potential site’s average temperature, rainfall and sunlight hours
(ii) Business consideration - proximity to the utility, accessibility to workforce and machinery, cost of the land
(iii) Grape variety - climatic condition and demand for grapes

Question 2

After how many years the first yield comes?

Answer 2

Around 3

Question 3

After how many years a vine should be replaced?

Answer 3

After 30-50 depending on the quality of the wine. Some have an exceptional quality and are defined “old vines”. However quantity decrease with the age and can be increasingly susceptible to disease

Question 4

Head Training

Answer 4

A little permanent wood. Only can have only one trunk others few shorts arms

Question 5

Cordon Training

Answer 5

A trunk with one or more permanent horizontal arms called cordons

Question 6

What is wine pruning?

Answer 6

Pruning is the removal of unwanted leaves, canes and permanent wood

Question 7

When does pruning take place?

Answer 7

(i) winter - determine the number and location of the buds. The buds don’t have to be too close together
(ii) summer - trimming the canopy to restrict vegetative growth and direct sugar production to the grape

Question 8

Types of winter pruning and definition

Answer 8

(i) spur pruning - cut to only 2/3 buds
(ii) replacement cane - 1/2 canes retained. Complex as it requires to choose suitable canes and train them. Preferred with head training

Question 9

What is guyot training?

Answer 9

It’s a type of pruning known as replacement cane where 1/2 canes are retained

Question 10

What is a trellis?

Answer 10

Trellises are permanent structures of stakes that are used to support any replacement cane and vine’s growth

Question 11

Description untrellised vineyards

Answer 11

(i) These vines are called “bush vines” and they are typically head trained and spur pruned.
(ii) More suitable for warm or hot, dry, sunny regions such as Barossa Valley in Australia and Southern of France

Question 12

What is gobelet?

Answer 12

(i) It’s a untrellised system head trained spur pruned where vines are tied together at the tips
(ii) More suitable for cool and wet regions such as Beaujolais

Question 13

What is VSP?

Answer 13

Vertical Shoot Positioning. Vine shoots are trained vertically forming a singles narrow canopy

Question 14

Description of trellised vineyards (canopy management)

Answer 14

Each row of vine requires a lines of posts joined by the horizontal wires. The vine’s cane and shoots are then tied together to the trellis

Question 15

Reasons for trellised vineyards

Answer 15

(i) sunlight - maximize it in regions with limited exposure and protect the grape from sunburn in regions with intense sunlight
(ii) air circulation - eg in wet climates to avoid fungal deasease
(iii) aid mechanisations

Question 16

What is planting density?

Answer 16

It is the number of vines that are planted in a given area

Question 17

Hectare

Answer 17

Square with 100-m side (=10’000 meter square)

Question 18

How much can planting density vary?

Answer 18

1-10k vines per hectare

Question 19

Main aspects influencing planting density?

Answer 19

(i) Limited water availability - low density
(ii) Low levels of nutrients and rainfall [europe] - high density to balance resources
(iii) High levels of nutrients and rainfall [new world]- not suitable for vineyard but with low density planting and multiple cordons can produce high yields good quality

Question 20

What is yields?

Answer 20

Yields is the measure of the amount of grapes produced

Question 21

What is green harvesting?

Answer 21

Remove immature grapes after veraison to reduce yields. Risky because the vine can compensate increasing the size of grapes retained loosing flavours

Question 22

Types of pests

Answer 22

(i) Phylolloxera
(ii) Nematodes
(iii) Animals (bird and mammals)
(iv) Insects

Question 23

What is grey rot?

Answer 23

Type of fungal disease caused by Botrytis cinerea that taints grape flavours and leads to color loss

Question 24

Sustainable agriculture definition

Answer 24

(i) Restricted use of man-made chemicals
(ii) In-depth understanding of the lifecycle of the vineyard pests
(iii) Encourage the predators of the pests to live in the vineyard to support biodiversity

Question 25

Organic agriculture definition

Answer 25

(i) Almost none man-made chemicals
(ii) Required accreditation (many associations similar principles)
(iii) The vineyard must undergo a period of conversion before certification

Question 26

Biodynamic agriculture definition

Answer 26

(i) Based on the work of Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun that incorporates philosophy and cosmology
(ii) Adapt grape growing practice to coincide with the cycles of planets, moon and stars
(iii) Homeopathic remedies called ‘preparations’ are used to fertilize the soil, treat diseases and ward off pests

Question 27

When it’s time for harvesting

Answer 27

(i) Véraison is the beginning of ripening
(ii) Monitoring the level of sugar can be a way to track ripening
(iii) The harvest begins when the grapes havethe exact quantities they need to create the desired style of wine

Question 28

Factors that influence the harvest type (machine, hand)

Answer 28

(i) How the vineyard is planted
(ii) Labour, availability and cost
(iii) Topography
(iv) Weather

Question 29

Machine harvesting characteristics

Answer 29

(i) speed that helps in case of over-ripe risk (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc)
(ii) shake the trunk of the vine and collect the ripe berries
(iii) On flat / gently sloping lands
(iv) Varieties that are not easily damaged and come away easily from their stem (not used for grapes that require the whole bunches i.e. Champagne / Beaujolais

Question 30

Hand harvesting characteristics

Answer 30

(i) cut the individual bunches of grapes with secateurs
(ii) grape selection in the vineyard - no rotten/unripen grapes
(iii) vineyard slopes (e.g. Douro, Mosel, Northem Rhon)
(iv) grapes stems are retained