Vineyard: Encyclopedia - Vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard (vignoble in French, vigna or vigneto in Italian, vinha in Portuguese, viña or viñedo in Spanish, Weinberg in German) is a place where grapes are grown for making wine, raisins, or table grapes.

Vineyard - History

According to the Old Testament (Genesis 9:20), Noah planted a vineyard on Mt. Ararat. When Moses led the Hebrews to Canaan, they are said to have regretted leaving the wines of Egypt (Numbers 20:5). In their new home, however, they found numerous vineyards.

The spread of Christianity and of vineyards in Western civilization occurred concurrently. St. Martin of Tours (316-397) both spread Christianity and planted vineyards.

During the instability of the Middle Ages the monasteries maintained viticulture. They had the resources, security, stability and interest in improving the quality of their vines over time. The monks also had the education and time necessary to enhance their viticulture skills. Throughout the Middle Ages, the best vineyards were owned and tended by the monasteries, and vinum theologium was considered superior to all others.

The vineyards of Europe were planted in various varieties of the Vitis viniferous grape. In the late 19th century the entire species was nearly destroyed by the plant louse called phylloxera that had somehow migrated to Europe. Native American grapes are varieties of Vitus labrusca, which is resistant to the bug. Vitus viniferous varieties were saved by being grafted onto rootstocks of Vitus labrusca. However, there is still no remedy for phylloxera, which remains a continuing threat to vineyards around much of the world.

For well over half a century Cornell University, the University of California at Davis, and California State College at Fresno, among others, have been conducting scientific experiments to improve viticulture and educating practioners. The research includes developing superior grape varieties, investigating better ways to control or destroy harmful pests, and develop improved techniques for producing better vineyards. Today there is increasing interest in developing organic, ecologically sensitive and sustainable vineyards. The use of drip irrigation in recent years has expanded vineyards into areas otherwise unplantable.

New World vineyard plantings have been increasing almost as fast as European vineyards are being uprooted. Between 1990 and 2003, U.S. vineyards increased from 292,000 acres to 954,000, Australian vineyards went from 146,000 to 356,000 acres, Chilean vineyards grew from 161,500 to 415,000 acres.

There are also changes in the kinds of grapes grown. For example, in Chile, thousands of acres of low-quality grapes have been replaced with such grapes as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Which grapes are grown in vineyards, as well as how they are grown, often reflect legislation, which in turn may serve to reinforce tradition. For example, laws may restrict which varieties can be planted, whether vineyards can be irrigated, when grapes can be harvested, and so on.

Changes in laws can also influence which grapes are planted. For example, during Prohibition in the U.S. (1920-1933), vineyards in California expanded seven-fold to meet the increasing demand. However, they were largely planted in varieties with tough skins that could be transported across the country to home wine-makers. The resulting wine was of low quality.

Changes in popular tastes lead to replanting vineyards in varieties that have greater commercial appeal, which is a very pronounced trend in Chile, but occurs throughout the New World.

There is a continuing relationship between the history of alcohol and the history of vineyards that has existed from the earliest known times.

Vineyard - Terroir

Terroir refers to the unique combination of natural factors associated with any particular vineyard. These factors include such things as soil, underlying rock, altitude, slope of hill or terrain, orientation toward the sun, and microclimate (typical rain, winds, humidity, temperature variations, etc.) No two vineyards have the exact same terroir.

Vineyards are often on hillsides and on soil of marginal value to other plants. A common saying is that "the worse the soil, the better the wine." Planting on hilllsides, especially facing south, is most often in an attempt to maximize the amount of sunlight that falls on the vineyard. For this reason some of the best wines come from vineyards planted on quite steep hills, conditions which would make most other agricultural products uneconomic.

A stereotypical ideal vineyard site for wine grapes (in the Northern hemisphere) is a hillside in a dry climate with a southern exposure (to maximize the sunlight that falls on the grapes), good drainage (to reduce uneccesary water uptake into the grapes), and good pruning (to force the vine to put all its energy into the fruit rather than foliage).

See also

• Wine
• List of wine producing regions
• Noble rot

Vineyard - Sources

• Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
• History of Alcohol and Drinking

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Vineyard", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki