Is it possible to increase yield per vine without affecting the style of wine?
Abstract
Yield and wine quality nexus has been investigated on 11 vine plots of cvs Grenache N and Syrah over 3 years in the Mediterranean region, in order to assess the impact of yield increase from 0.5-2 kg/m² i.e. 2 to 8 t/acre, on grape and wine quality for premium wine. Yield variation has been obtained by manipulating bud load per vine during winter pruning. Results show that a similar level of maturity has been achieved for most of the plots with the cultivar Grenache with a 1 or 2 week delay of harvesting date. Similar results have been found for Syrahs, except for vigorous vines (more frequently found in Syrah plot sample), where it was not possible to delay harvest because of Botrytis issues. Small scale vinification have been performed to confirm the observations made on maturity. Wine-tasting results actually show little difference between yield treatments both on sensory and hedonic grades. It is suggested that, for the different yield levels that have been studied here, yield to quality nexus is not linear and that this offers the possibility in a Mediterranean region (where harvesting dates can generally be delayed) to have various ranges of yield per vine to produce marketable premium and competitive wines.
Issue: GiESCO 2015
Type: Extended abstract
Authors
1 Institut Français de Vigne et du Vin, Institut Rhodanien, 2260 Route du Grès-84100 Orange, France
2 Chambre d’agriculture de Vaucluse, Site Agroparc- 84912 Avignon, France
3 Chambre d’agriculture des Bouches-du-Rhône, 22 Avenue Henri Pontier, 13626 Aix en Provence, France
4 Chambre d’agriculture du Var, 11 rue Pierre Clément – 83300 Draguignan, France
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Keywords
yield, quality, profitability, Grenache, Syrah, bud load, Mediterranean viticulture