ISHS Acta Horticulturae 427: Strategies to Optimize Wine Grape Quality
FACTORS AFFECTING THE QUALITY OF WINE FROM MINIMALLY PRUNED GRAPEVINES |
| Author: | J.V. Possingham |
| Keywords: | mechanical pruning, vine training, rootstocks, crop level, must composition |
| Abstract:
Minimal pruning is a vine management technology developed in Australia originally for vigorous wine grapes grown in warm irrigated areas that are to be machine harvested. It involves training grapevines to bi- or quadri-lateral cordons on simple upright trellises 1.4 to 2.0 m high. Once the basic architecture of the vine is established only limited further hand pruning is carried out in warm production areas. In recent years techniques have been developed that enable the MPCT system, (minimal pruning of cordon trained vines), to be used in cool production areas where ripening times can be later and the vigour of vines can be higher than in warm areas due to the improved water supply. In cool areas crop size control is essential to obtain fully ripe grapes, and is brought about by trimming off significant amounts of the low hanging parts of the canopy either as dormant shoots in winter or as green fruiting shoots once crop levels are known. Alternatively crop levels can be adjusted using a mechanical grape harvester to remove a portion of the crop after fruit set in early summer. This paper is concerned with some the factors that influence the quality of wine made from the grapes of MPCT vines such as climate, season, soil, variety, rootstock and crop load. | |
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