Section 2 · Factors Affecting the Style, Quality and Price of Wine

Vineyard Management

If the growing environment (Chapter 5) sets the stage, vineyard management is the performance. These are the decisions a grower makes every season, how to train and prune the vine, how to manage the canopy, how to handle pests and diseases, when and how to harvest. Every choice affects the style, quality, and cost of the final wine.

Choosing a Site and Planting It

Before any of the seasonal work, a grower has to choose where to plant and what. The textbook breaks the decision into three parts:

Planting: the site is cleared and the soil tested, with fertility corrected if needed. Young vines arrive from a nursery already grafted onto rootstock. They are often sleeved in plastic to keep rabbits and other animals off, and irrigation is sometimes allowed just to get them established, even in regions where it is otherwise banned. The first usable crop comes around year three.

Replanting: most vines are replaced somewhere between 30 and 50 years old, when yields fall too far to pay. “Old vines” on a label signals the producer chose to keep them for quality. After vines are uprooted the land is usually left fallow for at least three years to let the soil recover and any pests die off, so growers stagger their replanting plot by plot to keep as little land idle as possible.

Training Systems

VSP (Vertical Shoot Positioning) Training System

Cordon wire Catch wires Fruit zone Leaf canopy

A training system is the permanent physical structure used to support and shape the vine. Because grapevines are climbing plants that cannot support themselves, every vineyard must decide how vines will be positioned. The training system determines the vine’s shape, where the fruit hangs, and how leaves are exposed to sunlight.

The right training system depends on climate, grape variety, soil, and the level of mechanisation desired. There is no single "best" system, what works in Burgundy would fail in southern Spain.

Head Training and Cordon Training

The textbook starts with the shape of the vine’s permanent wood, which comes in two forms. Head-trained vines have a trunk and little else: at most a few short arms at the top. They can be spur-pruned or cane-pruned. Cordon-trained vines have a trunk plus one or more long horizontal arms (cordons), and are almost always spur-pruned. Cordons take longer to establish but are easier to mechanise.

Either form can be low (the vine picks up heat radiated from the soil, useful in cool sites) or high (the buds sit above the coldest air near the ground, useful where spring frost is a risk). Everything below (VSP, bush vines, pergola, Guyot) is a way of arranging the canopy on one of these two skeletons.

Why Trellis at All?

A trellis (posts and wires) costs money, so there are three reasons to use one. First, to control how much sunlight gets into the canopy: open it up in cool sites with limited sun, or let the leaves shade the fruit in hot, sunburn-prone sites. Second, airflow through the canopy, which cuts fungal disease in wet climates. Third, mechanisation: an orderly canopy can be sprayed and harvested by machine. Bush vines (no trellis) are head-trained and spur-pruned; in Beaujolais the shoot tips are tied together so the bunches still get air and light.

Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP)

The most widely used training system in the world for quality wine production. The vine’s shoots are trained upward between pairs of parallel wires, creating a neat, narrow, vertical wall of leaves (a "curtain").

How it works: The trunk is short. One or two horizontal canes or cordons are tied along a low wire. Shoots grow upward from these and are tucked between higher wires as they grow. The fruit zone is low, below the leaf canopy.

Advantages:

  • Excellent sun exposure to leaves (photosynthesis) and fruit (ripening, colour development)
  • Good air circulation around the fruit zone, reducing disease risk
  • Easy access for machinery (spraying, harvesting)
  • Allows precise canopy management (leaf removal, shoot thinning)

Where it’s used: Almost everywhere in cool to moderate climates, Bordeaux, Burgundy, New Zealand, Oregon, Germany, much of Chile and Argentina.

Limitation: In very hot climates, the vertical canopy exposes fruit to too much direct sunlight, risking sunburn. Growers in hot sites adapt it by letting the tops of the shoots flop over the upper wire so the leaves shade the fruit. Also, VSP limits yield because it creates a relatively small canopy.

Bush Vine (Gobelet)

The oldest training system in viticulture. The vine is a free-standing bush, no wires, no trellis. The trunk is short, and several short arms radiate outward, each bearing a spur with a few buds. The resulting shape is a small, low bush.

How it works: The vine supports itself through its short, stocky permanent wood. Shoots grow outward and slightly downward, creating a crown of leaves around the fruit, which hangs in the shade of the canopy.

Advantages:

  • The canopy shades the fruit from intense sun, ideal in hot, dry climates
  • No trellis required, reducing setup costs
  • Low to the ground, so the vine benefits from heat radiated by the soil
  • Naturally restricts vigour and yield, concentrating flavours

Where it’s used: Southern Rhône (Grenache), Beaujolais (Gamay), southern Spain, much of old-vine Australia (Barossa Shiraz and Grenache), parts of South Africa (old-vine Chenin Blanc).

Limitation: Cannot be easily mechanised, harvesting and most vineyard work must be done by hand, increasing costs. In humid climates, the dense canopy traps moisture and promotes disease.

Pergola (Tendone)

The vine is trained over a high, horizontal overhead frame, creating a canopy roof above the vineyard. Fruit hangs below the canopy in the shade.

Advantages:

  • Heavy shading of fruit, useful in very hot climates to prevent sunburn
  • High yields, making it popular for bulk wine production
  • Workers can move freely underneath the canopy

Where it’s used: Traditionally common in parts of northern Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige), Portugal (Vinho Verde), and some warm-climate bulk wine regions.

Limitation: The heavy shading can inhibit ripening and colour development. Difficult to mechanise. Not ideal for quality-focused production in most situations.

Other Systems

Guyot: not a training system at all, strictly speaking. Guyot is the name for replacement-cane pruning on a head-trained vine: single Guyot keeps one cane, double Guyot keeps two (one on each side of the trunk). VSP is a way of positioning the shoots on a trellis. The two go together very often (Burgundy, Bordeaux, New Zealand), which is why they get confused, but one is a pruning method and the other a canopy arrangement.

Scott Henry and Lyre: split-canopy systems that divide the vine’s leaf surface into two layers, increasing the total exposed leaf area. Used when vigour is naturally high and a simple VSP canopy would become too dense and shaded.

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Exam Angle

Training system questions are always about matching the system to the conditions. VSP in cool/moderate climates where you need maximum sun exposure. Bush vine in hot, dry climates where you need to shade fruit and restrict vigour. Pergola in hot climates for high yields. Always explain why a system suits the conditions.

Pruning

Pruning is the most fundamental vineyard management activity. Winter pruning takes place during dormancy and sets the number and position of buds (and therefore shoots, and therefore bunches) for the coming season, while avoiding crowded buds that would shade each other. In short: winter pruning controls yield. Summer pruning is a separate job: trimming shoots to limit growth and redirect sugar into the fruit, and stripping leaves around the bunches. The Vine covers that under canopy management below.

Cane Pruning (Replacement Cane)

Each winter, the grower selects one or two of the best canes (one-year-old shoots that have turned woody) and ties them along the lowest trellis wire. Each cane is typically cut to 8–20 buds. All other canes from the previous year are removed entirely. The textbook’s name for this is replacement-cane pruning; Guyot is the familiar name for it.

Advantage: Gives the grower precise control over the number and position of buds. Well-suited to varieties that produce their best fruit from buds in the middle of the cane (some varieties produce less fruitful buds near the base).

Where it’s used: Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Champagne, much of New Zealand (Single or Double Guyot).

Cost: Labour-intensive, requires skilled pruners who can identify and select the best canes.

Spur Pruning

Instead of retaining long canes, the grower leaves several short spurs along a permanent cordon (arm). Each spur has 2–3 buds. This creates a permanent framework that remains the same year after year.

Advantage: Simpler and faster to execute, easier to mechanise (machines can be set to cut to a fixed height). The permanent cordon provides a stable structure.

Where it’s used: Bordeaux (some estates), southern Rhône, Australia, California, Spain. Also the standard method for bush vines (gobelet).

Limitation: Not suitable for all varieties, some grape varieties (like Riesling) have unfruitful basal buds, meaning spurs would produce insufficient fruit.

The key principle: Think of the vine as holding a fixed store of carbohydrate energy over winter. Leave too few buds and that energy goes into a handful of over-vigorous shoots and a dense, shady canopy. Leave too many and the vine struggles to ripen all the fruit. The right bud count balances the vine’s energy against the crop, and it depends on the site and the vine rather than on a simple “fewer is better” rule.

Canopy Management

Canopy management refers to all the activities done during the growing season to control the vine’s leaf and shoot growth. It is one of the most important tools a grower has for influencing wine quality, because it directly affects the microclimate around the grapes.

Why Canopy Management Matters

A well-managed canopy achieves several things simultaneously:

A poorly managed canopy (too dense, too shaded) produces the opposite: underripe fruit with green, herbaceous flavours, high disease risk, and uneven ripening.

Key Canopy Management Techniques

Shoot Thinning

Removing excess shoots early in the growing season. This reduces canopy density, improves air flow and light penetration, and ensures the vine’s energy is directed to fewer shoots (and therefore fewer bunches of higher quality).

Leaf Removal (Leaf Plucking)

Removing leaves from around the fruit zone to expose bunches to sunlight and air. This is one of the most common and impactful canopy management techniques. In cool and moderate climates, leaf removal on the morning-sun side of the canopy improves ripening and reduces disease. In hot climates, leaf removal must be done carefully to avoid sunburning the grapes.

Shoot Positioning

Guiding shoots into the desired position as they grow (especially important in VSP, where shoots need to be trained upward between wires). This creates an orderly canopy with good light and air exposure.

Topping (Hedging)

Cutting the top of the canopy to a uniform height. This prevents the canopy from becoming too tall and shading itself. Usually done by machine. It redirects the vine’s energy from shoot extension toward fruit ripening.

Yield Management

Yield, the amount of grapes or wine produced per unit area, is one of the most discussed topics in wine quality. It is measured either by weight of grapes per hectare or in hectolitres of wine per hectare. The popular rule that lower yields mean better wine is one the textbook is careful about: it says a firm link between yield and quality is very hard to draw, because it depends on the site and the vine. A healthy, well-managed vine can carry a moderate yield of excellent quality, while a starved vine with a tiny crop can make dull wine.

Why manage yield at all? Legal maximums in many appellations, contracts that specify a quantity, and the practical limit of how much fruit the winery’s tanks can take. Predicting yield is hard: frost, poor fruit set, pests and disease can all cut the estimate sharply between spring and harvest.

How Yield Is Controlled

Vine Density: Matching Vines to Water and Soil

Planting density runs from roughly 1,000 to 10,000 vines per hectare, and the textbook treats it as a water-and-vigour decision rather than a quality badge. Where water is scarce, low density gives each vine enough soil to draw on. Where the soil is poor but there is enough water, high density makes the vines compete, which restrains vigour. Where the soil is very fertile and wet, even high density cannot hold the vigour down, so growers may plant at low density and give each vine several cordons or canes to carry the growth.

Two worked examples from the book: a hot inland site with little rain suits low density and bush vines; a cool coastal site with wet weather and poor soil suits high density on a trellis with an open canopy.

Vine density in practice: Burgundy’s Grand Cru vineyards may have 10,000+ vines per hectare, each carrying a small crop. By contrast, a bulk-wine vineyard in southern Australia might have 1,000–2,000 vines per hectare, each producing much more fruit. The first produces expensive wine in small quantities; the second produces affordable, everyday wine in large quantities. The density itself is not what makes the Burgundy good; it is the right choice for that soil and rainfall.
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Exam Angle

When discussing yield, always connect it to cost: lower yield = less wine per hectare = higher cost per bottle. Be careful about the quality half. The textbook says the link between yield and quality is hard to pin down and depends on the site and the vine, so write “can allow greater concentration” rather than “is better”, and name the mechanism (energy per bunch, canopy balance) rather than the slogan.

Irrigation

Whether or not to irrigate, and how much, is one of the most important and sometimes controversial decisions in viticulture.

Where Irrigation Is Used

In many New World wine regions (Australia, California, Chile, Argentina, South Africa), irrigation is essential because there is not enough rainfall during the growing season to support the vine. Without irrigation, viticulture would be impossible in many of these areas.

In most of Europe, irrigation was traditionally prohibited or heavily restricted by appellation law. The philosophy was that the vine should rely on natural rainfall and that irrigation would inflate yields and dilute quality. However, with climate change making droughts more severe and more frequent, regulations are gradually loosening, some European appellations now permit limited irrigation in extreme conditions.

Irrigation Methods

Drip irrigation is the most common modern method. Small drippers deliver controlled amounts of water directly to each vine’s root zone. This is very efficient, minimal water is wasted, and the grower has precise control over how much water each vine receives.

Flood (furrow) irrigation is an older method that floods the vineyard surface. It is less efficient but still used in some traditional regions (parts of Mendoza, for example, where irrigation water comes from Andean snowmelt through centuries-old canal systems).

Deficit Irrigation Strategies

Modern quality-focused growers don’t irrigate to keep vines completely comfortable. Instead, they use regulated deficit irrigation (RDI): deliberately providing less water than the vine would ideally want, particularly during certain stages of the growing season. This controlled stress produces smaller berries with thicker skins, resulting in more concentrated, complex wines with better colour and tannin (in reds).

Pests and Diseases

Vines face threats from fungi, insects, and other pests throughout the growing season. Managing these threats is a constant part of vineyard work.

Fungal Diseases

Downy Mildew

A serious fungal disease that thrives in warm, humid conditions. It attacks leaves, shoots, flowers and young grapes. Infected leaves develop yellow spots on top and a grey, furry growth underneath. If untreated, it can devastate the crop.

Treatment: Copper-based sprays (traditional Bordeaux mixture, actually named after the region where it was developed). Also controlled through canopy management (improving air circulation).

Powdery Mildew (Oïdium)

Another fungal disease, but unlike downy mildew, it likes warm, shady conditions with only some humidity, so it can thrive in drier climates. It appears as a grey-white powder on leaves and berries. Infected fruit develops off-flavours and the skins may split, inviting secondary infections.

Treatment: Sulphur-based sprays. Canopy management to improve air flow also helps.

Grey Rot (Botrytis cinerea)

The destructive form of botrytis. It attacks ripening grapes, particularly if the skins have been damaged (by hail, insects, or splitting from rain). It taints the flavour of the wine and strips colour from black grapes, and it can spread rapidly through a vineyard. The same fungus in different conditions (alternating humidity and dryness) produces noble rot, which is essential for great sweet wines (see Chapter 5).

Prevention: Good canopy management, leaf removal around fruit, avoiding damage to grape skins, and in extreme cases, anti-botrytis sprays.

On spraying generally: maritime climates need more sprays than dry ones; spraying must stop a set time before harvest; and an open canopy cuts both disease and the number of sprays needed, which is one more reason canopy management matters.

Viruses and Bacterial Diseases

Viruses

Spread through infected cuttings at the nursery and by nematodes in the soil. There is no cure. An infected vine ripens poorly and yields less, year after year. The only remedy is to remove the vines and sanitise the land before replanting, which is why nurseries test their stock and why nematode-resistant rootstocks matter.

Bacterial Diseases

Spread by sharpshooter insects (Pierce’s disease in California is the known example). Again, no cure: the vine dies within a few years. Quarantine to keep the insect out of unaffected regions is the main defence.

Insect Pests

Phylloxera

Covered in detail in Chapter 4. The root-feeding aphid that devastated European viticulture in the 19th century. Managed by grafting Vitis vinifera onto resistant American rootstocks.

Other Pests

Nematodes are microscopic worms that attack roots and, worse, carry viruses from vine to vine. Soil can be sanitised before planting, and some rootstocks are bred for nematode resistance. Moths (like the European grapevine moth) lay eggs on berries; the larvae bore into fruit, damaging it and creating entry points for rot. Insects are managed with insecticides or, increasingly, integrated pest management (below). Birds can eat significant quantities of ripe grapes, netting is the most common protection. Deer, wild boar, and other animals can also damage vineyards, and fencing is the answer. Half-eaten grapes are a problem beyond the lost fruit: the open wounds invite fungal rot.

Organic, Biodynamic, and Sustainable Viticulture

For much of the twentieth century vineyards were farmed with heavy doses of synthetic fertiliser, herbicide, pesticide and fungicide. There is growing interest among both producers and consumers in farming methods that reduce or eliminate that. The exam expects you to understand the distinctions between these approaches.

Organic Viticulture

Organic farming prohibits the use of synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. In their place:

  • Only a limited list of traditional treatments is allowed for disease control, copper and sulphur among them, and only in very small quantities
  • Cover crops and compost for soil health (instead of synthetic fertilisers)
  • Natural predators for pest control (instead of synthetic insecticides)

Organic viticulture is easier to practice in dry, warm climates (like southern Spain, Chile, parts of California) where disease pressure is naturally low. In humid regions (like Bordeaux or Burgundy), it is more challenging because fungal diseases are harder to control without synthetic sprays.

Certification: A grower may farm organically without telling anyone, but to put the word on a label needs certification from a recognised body (e.g., Ecocert in Europe, USDA Organic in the US). The standards differ from body to body; what they all share is a conversion period of several years before certification is granted.

Biodynamic Viticulture

Biodynamics goes further than organic farming. It follows the principles developed by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s, later developed by Maria Thun, and treats the vineyard as a holistic, self-sustaining ecosystem. In addition to prohibiting synthetic chemicals:

  • Specific preparations are used, these include fermented plant and mineral mixtures applied in tiny quantities to the soil or sprayed on the vine, both for soil health and against pests and disease
  • Vineyard activities are timed according to a biodynamic calendar based on the cycles of the moon and planets
  • The aim is to enhance soil health, biodiversity, and the vine’s natural balance

The scientific basis for some biodynamic practices is debated, but many respected producers worldwide practice biodynamics and report improvements in vine health and wine quality. Certification is provided by organisations like Demeter.

Notable biodynamic producers: Dom. Leroy and Dom. Leflaive (Burgundy), Zind-Humbrecht (Alsace), Nicolas Joly (Loire), Cullen (Margaret River).

Sustainable Viticulture

Sustainability takes a broader view than organic or biodynamic, considering environmental, economic, and social factors. A sustainable approach restricts synthetic chemicals rather than banning them, aims to reduce water consumption, lower carbon emissions, and maintain soil health over the long term. Two tools define it in the vineyard:

  • Timing sprays to need, not habit: monitoring pest and disease life cycles and weather forecasts so that a spray goes on only when it will do something. Integrated pest management (IPM) is the formal version of this: understand the pest, encourage its predators, and reach for a chemical last.
  • Biodiversity and cover crops: plants between the rows give predators a habitat, capture carbon dioxide, and return nutrients to the soil when they are mown in.

Many large wine companies and regions have developed their own sustainability programmes (e.g., Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance). These are not as strictly regulated as organic or biodynamic certification but represent a growing trend.

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Exam Tip

Know the key differences: organic = no synthetic chemicals, certified; biodynamic = organic + Steiner preparations + calendar, certified (Demeter); sustainable = broader approach, may use some synthetics, less strictly defined. If asked about the challenges of organic viticulture, discuss disease pressure in humid climates and the reliance on copper sprays (which can accumulate in soil over time).

Harvest Decisions

The harvest is the culmination of the entire growing season. Two critical decisions determine its success: when to pick and how to pick.

When to Pick

Deciding the harvest date is one of the most consequential decisions in wine production. There is no firm rule for ripeness: the right balance of sugar, acid, flavour and tannin depends on the variety, the climate and the style of wine being made. The grower must balance multiple factors:

The harvest balancing act: In cool climates, the challenge is waiting long enough for full ripeness without losing the crop to autumn rain or rot. In warm climates, the challenge is picking before sugar levels (and therefore alcohol) become too high while acids drop too low. Both require careful monitoring and often a degree of courage.

How to Pick: Machine vs Hand Harvesting

Machine Harvesting vs Hand Harvesting
Speed
Machine: Very fast. Can harvest a large vineyard in hours, including at night: cool fruit needs less energy to chill at the winery and oxidises more slowly. Speed matters when a vintage is under threat from weather, and for a variety such as Sauvignon Blanc that passes from ripe to overripe quickly. Hand: Much slower. Requires large teams of pickers over days or weeks.
Cost
Machine: Lower cost per hectare (high capital investment but low ongoing labour cost). Hand: Much higher cost due to labour.
Selectivity
Machine: Cannot select individual bunches or remove diseased fruit. Picks unripe and damaged berries along with the good ones, plus MOG (matter other than grapes: leaves, insects, the odd snail), which a sorting table at the winery can remove. Hand: Pickers select in the vineyard, leaving unripe or diseased fruit on the vine. Essential for noble-rot wines, where the rot spreads unevenly and pickers go through the same rows several times.
Grape condition
Machine: Beaters shake or knock the berries off the vine and leave the stalks behind; some berries split, which can start premature oxidation. Hand: Bunches arrive at the winery intact, usually in shallow stackable trays so the fruit at the bottom is not crushed. Intact bunches are essential for whole-bunch pressing (traditional-method sparkling wine) and whole-bunch red fermentation.
Terrain
Machine: Can only work on relatively flat land with wide enough rows. Hand: Can work anywhere, including steep slopes (Mosel, Douro, northern Rhône).

In practice: Machine harvesting is used for the majority of the world’s wine production, and premium wine can be made from either machine- or hand-picked grapes; the textbook is clear on that. Hand picking is required in two situations: where whole bunches are needed (traditional-method sparkling wine, whole-bunch red fermentation, and the selective picking that noble-rot wines demand), and where the slopes are too steep for a machine (Mosel, Douro, Northern Rhône).

Sorting: Regardless of how grapes are harvested, quality-focused producers sort the fruit before it enters the winery. This can be done on a sorting table (by hand, removing damaged or unripe fruit) or by optical sorter (a machine that uses cameras to identify and reject individual berries based on colour, size, or condition). Sorting is an additional cost but a significant quality tool.

What the Exam Expects You to Know

Active Recall Prompts

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