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Species that Vitis vinifera stems from
Vitis sylvestris, wild vines from the Middle East
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Vines produce fruit from wood that grew in the previous year. T or F?
True
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Name the parts of the vine
- Above ground: trunk, canopy, and grapes
- Below ground: root system
Canopy (aka leaf-wall): canes, shoots, and stalks. Each stalk (aka petiole) has a leaf or a tendril or a flower cluster (aka inflorescence). When pollinated, a flower cluster becomes a bunch of grapes.
Note: canes or spurs have buds; each bud has one or more shoots.
Note: nodes are in the angle between a leaf stalk and a cane (aka axil); nodes produce next year's buds.
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What is a hybrid (aka inter-specific cross)?
Sexual crossing between vinifera and non-vinifera species
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Name 6 hybrids
- Vidal: Canadian ice-wine
- Chambourcin: Australian red wine
- Cunningham, Jacquet: Madeira
- Seyval blanc: UK and worldwide
- Baco Blanc (22A): Armagnac
- Chancellor, de Chaunac, Villard Noir
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Define gibberillins
Growth hormone that helps turn new bud plant matter into crop
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Are most grape vines harmaphrodite?
Yes. Ovary is surrounded by 5 pollen-bearing stamens after the flower cap (consisting of flower petals) comes off.
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Are all grape vines hermaphrodite?
No. Single sex varieties do exist but usually for table grapes.
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Name 3 things roots do
- Anchor the plant
- Provide a conduit for nutrients and moisture from the soil
- Store reserves of nutrients (mainly carbohydrates) and moisture.
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How big are the roots when planted and in subsequent years?
- When planted: 5-10 roots 100m (0.3 ft) long when planted, growing to 500mm (1.6 ft) long at end of year 1
- Subsequently: growth slows but expands until food competition forces it to dig deeper
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When do root grow?
When topsoil warms to 10°C, roots produce sap
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Define cytokinins
Hormones that stimulate roots to produce sap
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Why is most clonal work carried out by research institutions and universities?
It is very time consuming and the outcome is not certain.
Note: cuttings from vines with desired characteristics must grow to maturity and be proven over several vintages.
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Name 5 characteristics a clone may be selected for
- Disease resistance
- Higher yield
- Early ripening
- Deep color
- Small berries
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Name 2 clones for Pinor Noir
- Upright habit (aka pinot droit)
- Loose bunches (aka Mariafield)
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Name 2 clones for Chardonnay
- High acidity and little fruitiness
- Small berry with tropical fruit (aka Mendoza)
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Name an AOC that regulates clones
Champagne: only allows 11 (of 28) Chardonnay clones
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How many clones of PN are there?
43
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Define scion
Top (productive) half of a grafted plant
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Define layering
Using shoots from a neighboring vine to fill in gaps in a vineyard
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Define selection massale
Mass selection of clones: growers can souce scion wood from their own or neighboring vineyards and send it to a grafting nursery (aka pepinieristes) so diversity can be constinued when planting a new vineyard.
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Define chimeras (aka sport or bud sport)
A fruit, flower, leaf, or shoot marketdly different from the norm.
Note: The most common sport is a different form of grape.
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New grape varieties are produced by crossing male of one variety with female of another variety. T or F?
True. This is called cross-breeding. Pollen from male parts (anthers) are used to pollinate the ovary. Seeds (usually hundreds) that result from rip grapes are then planted.
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How long does cross-breeding take to prove a new variety for commercial production?
Decades. 30 or 40 years is not uncommon.
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Name a few successful varieties produced by cross-breeding.
- Muller-Thurgau: Riesling X Madeleine Royale1
- Scheurebe: Silvaner X Riesling
- Bacchus: Silvaner X Riesling X Muller-Thurgau
- Pinotage: Pinot Noir X Cinsaut
- Tarrango: Touriga X Sultana
- Ruby Cabernet: Carignan X Cabernet Sauvignon
- Dornfelder2: Helfensteiner X Heroldrebe
- Helfensteiner: Fruhburgunder × Trollinger
- Heroldrebe: Blauer Portugieser × Lemberger
Note 1: Madeleine Royale is a table grape developed on the Loire in the 1800s.
Note 2: August Herold created Dornfelder at the grape breeding institute in Weinsberg in the Württemberg region in 1955.
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Name 2 synonyms for Muller-Thurgau
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In the EU, the name of a cross-bred variety cannot reflect the name of its parents. T or F?
True. To avoid confusing the public.
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What is the main reason for cross-breeding?
Disease and virus resistance
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Are there any GMO grapes used commercially?
No (unlike corn, soy, cotton, canola, rice). But they are being tested in Germany, France, and South Africa.
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In Europe, vines consume 8% of the land but 80% of the fungicide. T or F?
True
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Name the 2 types of vine that growers can plant -- and distinguish them
- Rooted Cuttings: Cutting is planted in bed to develop roots and then replanted; cheaper but riskier.
- Grafted Vines: Grafting single-bud scion onto rootstock
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Where is most rootstock grown?
Southern France and northern Italy
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Which grafted vines will be offered for sale?
Those with strong grafts and sturdy roots
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Define field grafting (aka chip budding)
Grafting single buds (aka chips) onto already planted rootstock. It is used in very warm regions where grafted vines might struggle to establish themselves.
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Define Layering (aka Provignage) and state its downside
Planting a cane from a neighboring vine where the missing vine was and burying it under the soil.
The downside is that layered vines will be on their own roots and inherit the characteristics of the parent together with any viruses.
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Define Repiquage
Planting young vines amongst existing older vines. Whole vineyard should be re-planted (aka grubbed-up) when % of new vines > % of older vines.
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Define top-grafting (aka top-working)
Grafting new variety wood onto trunk (cut 500mm from ground and inserting 2 wedges of new wood in cleft bound with tape.
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