Grapes and Vines

Question	Answer
What is a grape variety?	A group of individual plants that can trace their lineage back to a single plant. All are genetically identical to the original.
What factors do growers consider when choosing a grape variety?	Colour, flavour, budding and ripening times, climate, resistance to disease, etc.
If grapes are not grown from seeds, what two techniques does a grower use to preserve the unique qualities of a variety?	1. Cutting. Common in commercial nurseries. A vine shoot is planted. 2. Layering. Done in the vineyard. A bent cane is buried in the ground. This method is now rare due to risk of Phylloxera.
What is a clone?	A group of vines that show a particular set of unique characteristics. Positive mutations are selected for better fruit or disease/climate resistance, etc.
What is the difference between a clone and a mutation?	A clone is a perfect copy of a parent grape that may develop genetic variations when, for example, planted in a new environment. A mutation is an imperfect copy of a parent from cell reproduction. The latter is a natural and slow process that can lead to a new variety.
What are some mutations of Pinot Noir?	Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Meunier.
What is cross-fertilisation?	Pollen from the stamen of one vine is transferred to the pistil of another vine. Pollinated flowers develop into grapes with seeds. If a seed is planted and grows, a new variety is created.
What are the pros and cons of cross-fertilisation?	Pro: Avoids waiting around for a random mutation to occur for a better-suited plant. Cons: Very costly and time consuming due to the unpredictability of a new variety's qualities and commercial value.
What is a crossing?	A new variety produced from two parents of the same species. Technically all varieties today are crossings, but the term is usually applied to new varieties bred by researchers.
What is a hybrid?	A vine whose parents come from two different species. Usually at least one American vine (e.g. not V. vinifera) is a parent.
Why are hybrids usually considered inferior to Vitis vinifera?	They tend to lack tannin and are very high in acid. In other words, they usually don't make wines of equal quality.
What is a foxy wine?	Wine made from any subspecies of Vitis labrusca. The high acidity and characteristic flavour component that is pleasant in fresh grapes tends to be undesirable in a wine.
What are three popular hybrids?	Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc and Baco Noir.
Why are hybrids important to the wine industry?	They are used throughout the world as rootstock as they have protection again Phylloxera and nematodes, and can provide better drought resistance. In general, to combat disease and weather factors.
What is grafting?	A technique used to join a rootstock to a V. vinifera variety.
When grafting onto North American rootstock, what is the name for the part of the vine that is Vitis vinifera?	The scion.
Explain bench grafting.	A process done in nurseries in which short sections of cane from both the V. vinifera variety and the rootstock variety are joined together by machine and stored in a warm environment until the two parts fuse together. Once fused it can be planted.
Explain head grafting.	Done in an established vineyard. An existing vine is cut back to the trunk and a bud or cutting of the new variety is grated onto the trunk. If successful, the vine will produce fruit from the new variety at the next vintage.
What are the advantages of head grafting?	It saves times. Newly planted vines take a minimum of 3 years to produce a commercial crop, but grafting allows the grower to adjust quickly to market demands. It is also cheaper than replanting a whole vineyard.
Sauvignon Blanc x Cabernet Franc is a _________ known as ________.	Cross; Cabernet Sauvignon
Ugni Blanc x Rayon d’Or is a _________ known as _________.	Hybrid; Vidal
What are the green parts of a vine?	The parts of the vine that grow each new year. These are the leaves, buds and tendrils of a shoot, as well as any flowers or berries.
What is an inflorescence?	The collection of flowers in bunches which when pollinated will become a bunch of grapes.
Why is managing one year old wood vital?	Vines normally only produce fruit on shoots that grow from buds that developed the previous year. One year old wood is pruned every winter to retain a certain amount of buds for the next growing season.
What is the difference between a cane and a spur?	A cane is long with 8-20 buds, whereas a spur is short and has only 2-3 buds.
What is permanent wood?	Wood that is more than 1 year old, made up of a the trunk and, where present, the arms of the vine. Pruning choices restrict and configure permanent wood differently.
Where are Vitis vinifera vines believed to have been developed?	Caucasus Mountains region, between Europe and Asia, and spread largely due to human intervention.
What is the second most important grape species for commercial purposes?	Vitis labrusca. Native to North America and used to make table grapes. Concord is a well-known variety.
What are some other native North American vine species used in the wine industry?	Vitis riparia, Vitis aestivalis, and Vitis rupestris.
What are three other terms for a native grape variety?	Traditional, indigenous, autochthonous (natural cross-breeding or mutation in a specific area).
What is a famous native grape rarely planted in the rest of the world and why?	Nebbiolo. It is believed that grapes reach their highest quality under specific conditions that may be impossible to duplicate away from their native area.
True or False: Vinifera grape vines need insects and birds to pollinate them.	False. They are self pollinating, so only a breeze is needed.
What is respiration?	When a plant breaks down sugar and related carbohydrates for energy. During veraison and at times when sugar is unavailable, the vine shifts from metabolising sugar to metabolising malic acid.
How does temperature effect respiration?	The rate of respiration is affected by temperature, so for every 18F increase, respiration doubles. Acid levels can drop too quickly if it is too hot, so cool nights are beneficial.
What is transpiration?	The process by which water evaporates through the leaves’ stomata. Analogous to perspiration in animals.
What happens if a vine’s stomata close?	Transpiration and in the intake of CO2 which is needed for photosynthetic activity cease.
What is translocation?	The process by which materials such as sugar are moved from one part of the plant to another; e.g. sugar in leaves not needed for energy relocating to grape clusters or being stored in the wood for future use.
What is weeping?	When the sap begins to flow upward from the trunk and out to the tips of the cane. This occurs when the ground temp begins to rise above 10C (50F) and only lasts a day or two before bud break.
When does flowering usually take place?	40-80 days after bud break.
What is physiological maturity in a berry?	The level of phenolic compounds in the grape. Sugar concentration and physiological ripening occur together over the summer, but not necessarily at the same rate. Weather has the most influence on sugar levels.
How long after veraison does harvest usually take place?	1.5-2 months.
How many days is the time period from bud break to harvest?	Typically 140-160 days, but can be as little as 110 or as long as 200.

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	Created by Michelle Ames over 5 years ago