Grapes are a unique agricultural product. While more than half go toward the production of wine, they are also grown to be dried into raisins or eaten fresh. Grapes command more return per acre than almost any other plant, and in 2018, a single hectare of grand cru vineyard in Burgundy cost over seven million dollars on average. Further, unlike many crops that are planted each growing season, vineyards are a long-term investment—they require several years to become established and are designed to survive for decades.
Unlike many commodity plants, the profitability of wine grapes is driven by quality, which includes the grape’s ability to convey a unique sense of place. While other agricultural crops look to new varieties for flavor improvement, disease resistance, and adaptations to climate, most wine producers rely on a small number of established cultivars. Site selection and vineyard practices, however, are critical, since improvement is achieved through management of the vine’s environment.
Grapes were one of the first fruits to be domesticated by humans. In ancient times, they were prized for their high levels of sugar, a source of both nutrition and novelty. Most of the grape varieties used in wine production belong to a single species, Vitis vinifera, which was first domesticated from wild grapevines, called Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris (or Vitis sylvestris), at least 7,000 years ago in the land between the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas. As nomadic people settled into an agrarian lifestyle, they carried grapevines south to Mesopotamia. Domestic vinifera grapes were spread from the Fertile Crescent throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, driven by the westward migration of
Thanks for another great article and the accompanying podcast Jennifer. I wish I’d had this when studying for my Diploma. I wanted to ask you about two things you mentioned in the article and the podcast. The first was about the number of clusters produced per shoot and how this might change as a plant grows old. You said that most shoots contain between one and three clusters, with two being most common. As a vine gets older, we’re told that yields typically decrease, and I wanted to ask if this is because the plant starts producing fewer clusters per shoot, fewer berries per cluster, or smaller berries (resulting in a greater skin-to-pulp ratio), or perhaps a combination of all three? Also, if old vines do in fact produce fewer clusters per shoot, is it possible that a shoot from an old vine may not produce any clusters at all in a given year due to age (rather than weather events, disease, etc)? My second question was about soil pH. Is there any relation between soil pH and the pH in the final wine? You mentioned that slate soils in the Mosel can be fairly acidic with a pH below 6, but perhaps the high acid levels in Mosel Rieslings have little to do with soil pH and much more to do with the cool continental climate and acid retention of the variety itself? Thanks again!
Yes, I did not mean to imply that acidic soils in Germany would result in more acidic fruit. In fact, there's not a strong relationship between acidity in soil and in the fruit or wine. On the other hand, a cool climate would help to preserve acidity.
"In fact, there's not a strong relationship between acidity in soil and in the fruit or wine." - Thanks again for confirming this, that corresponds with what I've read elsewhere as well.