Vineyard Terms Part 2

Welcome to Vine to Wine, I’m your host Linda Moran.  Yesterday we discussed the terms terroir, macroclimate, mesoclimate and microclimate and the influences on their descriptions of the vineyards. Today, we move on to the vine and a term canopy.

Every field of study seems to have its’ own vocabulary, and the wine industry is no different. When it comes to growing grapes a great deal of effort is devoted to managing the vines and growing good tasting grapes with characteristics appropriate to the variety. As with a tree, the canopy of a grapevine refers to the leaves that are at the top of the plant and create a covering over the rest of the plant. In this case, it also includes the leaves the stems and the grape clusters. We have learned the growth management of the canopy is instrumental in producing high quality grapes which in turn are able to produce high quality wines. It has been proven grape clusters exposed to air and light are less susceptible to mold mildew and other infectious diseases. Canopy management aims to safely maximize sunlight and minimize shading, while maintaining a good balance between shoot growth and grape production. It isn’t easy, every grape variety, every vineyard, and every growing season is different. So each year, every canopy needs to be managed differently. So there you have it the term canopy and what it has to do with growing wine grapes. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at ag info dot net and thanks for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.