Managing wines
Chapter 1 ‘’Managing in the vineyard.’’
Wine is basically fermented grape juice, so you need good quality grapes to make good
wine.
A number of factors must be combined to get a good basic product:
1. Good soil for the right variety of grape
2. A good climate and micro climate
3. A wine-grower with passion and experience.
Soil and soil composition:
Soil (=bodem) mainly consist of minerals that in turn consist of clay, sand and other fixed
elements. Besides that a lot of rocks and stones can be found in the soil and other types of
stone such as limestone (=kalksteen) and flint (=kiezelsteen). Also, the soil mainly consist of
plant- and animal humus. Humus is a dark substance which is a result from rotting and
moulding plants and micro-organism. Humus is usually on top of the soil.
Soil depth plays an important role in the development of the root system of vines
(=wortelsysteem)
If the soil is deep and has sufficient water, then this is ideal for the mass production of wine.
Because the roots can simply get the minerals. If the soil is shallow (=ondiep) and has a
limited water reserve then this will make qualitatively better grapes and potentially better
wine.
The harder the vine has to work for the minerals and nutrients, the better the quality it
produces.
Climate and weather:
Wine growing is possible between the 30th and 50th degree of latitude (=breedtegraad). In
the southern and northern hemisphere. Outside this latitude it is not possible because it is
too warm or too cold there. There are a number of climate categories in Europe, started with
A (coolest zone) to B, to C1/2/3 (hottest zone). The new wine world use the Winkler-index.
Climate classification:
Maritime climate Warm summers and mild winters, regions nearby water are colder.
Continental Rather cool, surrounded by large masses of land
climate
Mediterranean Dry summers and mild winters, rainfall especially during the winters.
climate
Subtropical Rainfall in summer, hot summers, little difference between summer
climate and winter
Ideal weather conditions for growing wine are:
- Light to moderate frost in winter
- A rainy spring, without night frost.
- A warm not too hot summer with occasional rain.
- A lot of sun and little rain, two months before harvesting.
Temperature: Growing grapes is possible by > 10 degrees. If the temperature is higher than
25 degrees, the vine stops growing. Best temperature is between 20 and 22 degrees.
, Frost: Frost can freeze the vine to death. During spring, frost is very harmful for the young
leaves and buds. The buds can be sprinkled with water to make sure that the buds do not
freeze.
Sunlight: Sunlight is needed for the process of photosynthesis. A vine needs 1500 hours of
sun to be able to produce ripe grapes.
Hail: can cause damage during the growing season, it can destroy he buds or the grapes.
Rainfall: A vine need at least 700 mm rain per growing season to be able to survive. Too
much rain can cause rotting. Rain before or during harvest can result in a crop (=oogst) that
is less concentrated.
Wind: Has a positive effect on the vine. Fungus (=schimmel) is then less able to affect the
vines. A cool sea breeze can also cool down a hot vineyard. Negative effect; young
vines/vineyards are not always protected against cool winds
Pruning: remove parts from the vine, to improve or maintain the health of the plant.
Guyot horizontal half circle vine.
Cordon extremely horizontal vine
Gobelet Ballerina
The Vine:
Also called Vitis Vinifera, the fruits are grapes. Life span is 30 years or more. 5.000 grape
varienties > 1000 are used for wine production. A wine grower can determine to select
intensive methods of growing or integrated wine-growing.
Intensive growing > producing wine as fast and as cheap as possible. To get a maximum
crop of grapes per hectare.
Integrated growing > combating pest and diseases by natural materials such as copper and
Sulphur. ‘’Hands off approach’’ so that the juice from the grapes is pure.
Anthroposophical theory of Rudolf Steinet:
Earth the root system
Water the leaf
Air the flower
Fire the grape.
Pest and Diseases:
A distinction is made as follows:
Insects and other pests
* Phylloxera Vastatrix
* Birds
Fungal diseases:
* Mildex: can be combated with Sulphur
* Rot: grey rot is a problem, noble rot can produce a sweet/honey wine.
* Pierce’s disease: bacterium in the New World
Harvesting: Depends on weather conditions during the year. By using a refractor meter the
sugar content can be measured. If this is constant, it is time to harvest. Choice between
hand harvesting of mechanical harvesting.
Chapter 1 ‘’Managing in the vineyard.’’
Wine is basically fermented grape juice, so you need good quality grapes to make good
wine.
A number of factors must be combined to get a good basic product:
1. Good soil for the right variety of grape
2. A good climate and micro climate
3. A wine-grower with passion and experience.
Soil and soil composition:
Soil (=bodem) mainly consist of minerals that in turn consist of clay, sand and other fixed
elements. Besides that a lot of rocks and stones can be found in the soil and other types of
stone such as limestone (=kalksteen) and flint (=kiezelsteen). Also, the soil mainly consist of
plant- and animal humus. Humus is a dark substance which is a result from rotting and
moulding plants and micro-organism. Humus is usually on top of the soil.
Soil depth plays an important role in the development of the root system of vines
(=wortelsysteem)
If the soil is deep and has sufficient water, then this is ideal for the mass production of wine.
Because the roots can simply get the minerals. If the soil is shallow (=ondiep) and has a
limited water reserve then this will make qualitatively better grapes and potentially better
wine.
The harder the vine has to work for the minerals and nutrients, the better the quality it
produces.
Climate and weather:
Wine growing is possible between the 30th and 50th degree of latitude (=breedtegraad). In
the southern and northern hemisphere. Outside this latitude it is not possible because it is
too warm or too cold there. There are a number of climate categories in Europe, started with
A (coolest zone) to B, to C1/2/3 (hottest zone). The new wine world use the Winkler-index.
Climate classification:
Maritime climate Warm summers and mild winters, regions nearby water are colder.
Continental Rather cool, surrounded by large masses of land
climate
Mediterranean Dry summers and mild winters, rainfall especially during the winters.
climate
Subtropical Rainfall in summer, hot summers, little difference between summer
climate and winter
Ideal weather conditions for growing wine are:
- Light to moderate frost in winter
- A rainy spring, without night frost.
- A warm not too hot summer with occasional rain.
- A lot of sun and little rain, two months before harvesting.
Temperature: Growing grapes is possible by > 10 degrees. If the temperature is higher than
25 degrees, the vine stops growing. Best temperature is between 20 and 22 degrees.
, Frost: Frost can freeze the vine to death. During spring, frost is very harmful for the young
leaves and buds. The buds can be sprinkled with water to make sure that the buds do not
freeze.
Sunlight: Sunlight is needed for the process of photosynthesis. A vine needs 1500 hours of
sun to be able to produce ripe grapes.
Hail: can cause damage during the growing season, it can destroy he buds or the grapes.
Rainfall: A vine need at least 700 mm rain per growing season to be able to survive. Too
much rain can cause rotting. Rain before or during harvest can result in a crop (=oogst) that
is less concentrated.
Wind: Has a positive effect on the vine. Fungus (=schimmel) is then less able to affect the
vines. A cool sea breeze can also cool down a hot vineyard. Negative effect; young
vines/vineyards are not always protected against cool winds
Pruning: remove parts from the vine, to improve or maintain the health of the plant.
Guyot horizontal half circle vine.
Cordon extremely horizontal vine
Gobelet Ballerina
The Vine:
Also called Vitis Vinifera, the fruits are grapes. Life span is 30 years or more. 5.000 grape
varienties > 1000 are used for wine production. A wine grower can determine to select
intensive methods of growing or integrated wine-growing.
Intensive growing > producing wine as fast and as cheap as possible. To get a maximum
crop of grapes per hectare.
Integrated growing > combating pest and diseases by natural materials such as copper and
Sulphur. ‘’Hands off approach’’ so that the juice from the grapes is pure.
Anthroposophical theory of Rudolf Steinet:
Earth the root system
Water the leaf
Air the flower
Fire the grape.
Pest and Diseases:
A distinction is made as follows:
Insects and other pests
* Phylloxera Vastatrix
* Birds
Fungal diseases:
* Mildex: can be combated with Sulphur
* Rot: grey rot is a problem, noble rot can produce a sweet/honey wine.
* Pierce’s disease: bacterium in the New World
Harvesting: Depends on weather conditions during the year. By using a refractor meter the
sugar content can be measured. If this is constant, it is time to harvest. Choice between
hand harvesting of mechanical harvesting.
