GRAPE GROWING The Winegrower or Viticulturist The Winegrower’s Craft into wine. Today, one person may fill both • In summer, the winegrower does leaf roles, or frequently a winery will employ a thinning, removing excess foliage to • Decades ago, winegrowers learned their person for each role. expose the flower sets, and green craft from previous generations, and they pruning, taking off extra bunches, to rarely tasted with other winemakers or control the vine’s yields and to ensure explored beyond their village. The Winegrower’s Tasks quality fruit is produced. Winegrowers continue treatments, eliminate weeds and • In winter, the winegrower begins pruning • Today’s winegrowers have advanced trim vines to expose fruit for maximum and this starts the vegetative cycle of the degrees in enology and agricultural ripening. Winegrowers control birds with vine. He or she will take vine cuttings for sciences, and they use knowledge of soil netting and automated cannons. chemistry, geology, climate conditions and indoor grafting onto rootstocks which are plant heredity to grow grapes that best planted as new vines in the spring, a year • In fall, as grapes ripen, sugar levels express their vineyards. later. The winegrower turns the soil to and color increases as acidity drops. aerate the base of the vines. The winegrower checks sugar levels • Many of today’s winegrowers are continuously to determine when to begin influenced by different wines from around • In spring, the winegrower removes the picking, a critical decision for the wine. the world and have worked a stagé (an mounds of earth piled against the base In many areas, the risk of rain, hail or apprenticeship of a few months or a of the vines to protect against frost. frost is an ever-present danger. A month harvest) in regions around the world. He or she will plant year-old nursery later, winegrowers cover the base of the cuttings and tie down canes on wires. vines with soil to protect against frost. • A little more than a generation ago, In frost-prone regions like Chablis and The winegrower will spread manure and in many wine regions, the roles of Champagne, winegrowers run heaters compost and gather the year’s shoots winegrower and winemaker were in the vineyards at night. If needed, the for burning. separate; the former grew grapes and winegrower applies treatments against the latter, either a négociant or a winery, oidium, mildew and insects. would buy the grapes and vinify them Methods of Viticulture Vine Training & Pruning Bush or Gobelet Cordon de Royat Guyot Pergola In Mediterranean or hot wine In cool-climate regions, vines Double Guyot is Bordeaux’s In Spain’s Galicia, with its cool, regions, vines are bush trained are wire-trained on trellises and favored training system while it’s wet Atlantic conditions; in the (called bush in California, are pruned in Cordon or Guyot single Guyot in Burgundy, for Pinot warm, Mediterranean climate of gobelet in southern France, systems, or variations like Smart- Noir and Chardonnay. Increasingly, some areas of southern Italy, Sicily en vaso in Spain, alberello in Dyson. Vegetation and grape Burgundians are using Cordon for and Greece; and in Italy’s cooler southern Italy and Sicily). The production are easier to control, Pinot due to better bunch spacing regions of Trentino and Emilia- leaves protect bunches from harsh but since leaf and bunch exposure and more controlled harvest. Romagna, winegrowers often use sunlight and receive light from are fixed, vineyards are planted pergola training, where vines are any orientation. These tend to in a specific orientation. These tied to an overhead structure. be older, low-density vineyards. tend to be high-density vineyards. (1,000-5,000 vines/hectare) (9,000-12,000+ vines/hectare) Propagation • Flood irrigation is an ancient method still Harvest used in desert areas to make bulk wines. • Generic clones available from commercial Water from a supply canal is diverted • Although slow and labor intensive, nurseries have been bred for maximum to vine rows, where it’s absorbed by the handpicking minimizes damage and production rather than distinct character soil. Furrow irrigation used in Argentina allows for more stringent selection of and are not specific to any region or area, is similar but provides greater control. grape bunches. unlike indigenous grapes. • Machine harvesting is costly but is • Many winegrowers see great value in faster and can be done at night in cool maintaining the genetic identity of their temperatures. The latest machines are oldest vines, which have adapted to sophisticated, able to gently harvest vineyards over centuries and produce low without damaging grapes and also yields of small, concentrated berries. allow a selection in the vineyard. • Most Old World wine regions don’t allow irrigation, which is often permitted in New World regions. Canopy Management • Common practices by winegrowers • Many winegrowers and/or to propagate their best vines include • Regardless of vine training methods winemakers feel that the decision of Selection Massale, where cuttings taken used, canopy management is crucial to when to pick is one of the two most from a number of the best old vines the final quality of the grapes. An optimal important during the year; the other are used to plant new vines, and clonal ratio of leaves to bunches is maintained is what temperature to ferment at. selection, where a cutting from a single so the vine’s vigor isn’t wasted on Alcohol and acidity are measured vine is used for replanting. In both cases, superfluous vegetation. and the grapes are tasted to give the winemakers identify “mother vines” with • In the summer, excessive shoots are winemaker a sense of ripeness and superior quality attributes (low yields, trimmed or thinned to ensure an ideal the quality of tannins. In many great small berries, resistance to disease, etc.) number of bunches per vine and for wine regions, there is a constant to be replicated in new vines. proper bunch spacing, and leaf pulling is risk of hail, frost and rain which can performed early in the season to reduce damage or destroy the harvest. unwanted vegetation. Irrigation • Three types of irrigation systems are used for vineyards: drip, sprinkler and flood. Drip and sprinkler systems provide precise watering; a flood system is less accurate. • Drip irrigation, also called trickle irrigation, employs long, plastic supply lines that are placed along each row, one dripper per vine. • In addition to canopy management, many • Sprinkler irrigation, similar to crop- winegrowers do a “green harvest” to watering systems, utilizes a network improve the wine quality and encourage of heads about 20 meters (65 ft.) apart ripening. In mid- to late summer, some which water several rows of vines. bunches are removed from the vine. The remaining bunches ripen more quickly with an improved leaf-to-fruit ratio. TERROIR What is Terroir? Soil • Topography affects climate conditions; grapes planted on south-facing slopes • The concept of terroir comes from the • A vineyard with poor, shallow topsoil in the northern hemisphere (the reverse French expression goût de terroir (“taste of with good drainage is ideal. for southern hemisphere) have greater the earth”) which asserts that every great warmth and sun exposure. Grapes vineyard’s distinct identity and sense of planted close to water enjoy more place is expressed in the aroma and flavor humidity and moderated temperatures. characteristics of its wines. • Terroir is a vineyard’s unique combination of soil, topography, climate and microclimate: Climate and Microclimate all physical and environmental factors that • All wine is grown between 30–50° affect the vine. latitude north and south of the equator. • “Non-interventionist” or “natural” • Vines should be forced to grow a deep • Optimal conditions: minimal frosts in the winemakers feel that terroir can be and extensive root system that reaches winter, mild spring, hot sunny summer, superceded by winemaking techniques down to mineral-rich subsoil. long dry autumn. Climate conditions and insist on doing as little as possible in during the growing season can greatly the winery to affect the character of the • Richer soils yield a greater quantity of affect the quality of the vintage. vineyard, the grapes and the wine. grapes at the expense of quality. • Terroir is a traditional “Old World” concept that has spread to “New World” regions like California, Argentina and New Zealand. Topography • Many winemakers feel a necessary • Topography refers to the physical component of great terroir is observation features and geography of an area’s over time. surface: altitude, slope, sun exposure and proximity to water. • Old World winemakers have cultivated from terroir in France, Italy and Spain • Many of the world’s finest wine regions for centuries; New World winemakers are situated at the limits of cultivation have comparatively just started but are (Champagne, Burgundy, Rioja Alta and learning fast. Piedmont) where cool, wet climate conditions enhance acidity levels but • Burgundies are the best example of wines often bring frost and hail. that express specific vineyard terroir. Burgundy’s appellation system is a quality • Training systems, row spacing and hierarchy based strictly on the location of canopy trimming can impact a vineyard’s vineyard terroir. See diagram below. microclimate by affecting the vine’s exposure to sun. Relative Positions of Different Appellations and Vineyards in Burgundy Woodland or Scrub GRAND CRUS Boundary of the Vine Growing Area Premier Crus Grand Crus Premier Crus PREMIER CRUS Communal Appellations COMMUNAL Hard Limestone APPEllatiON Marl REGIONAL Limestone and Fossils APPEllatiON Friable Limestone, Clay or Boundary of the Shist, Hard Limestone Vine Growing Area Sandy Limestone Regional Appellations A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A VINE SPRING New shoots emerge from the vine, and there follows a period of rapid growth during which frost is a serious concern.