Grape Growing – History and Techniques – (Part Two)
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The growing technique is extremely important and includes the optimal management of various factors such as: |
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| Cordone Speronato, or Rammed Cord | |
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| Guyot Alto, or Tall Guyot | |
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| Pergola Trentina, or Pergola Trento Style |
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Italy has developed a variety of pruning and grape growing systems based upon historic techniques, some of which are traceable back to the ancient Greek and Etruscan peasants.
In fact, Italy counts on more types of grape growing methods than does any other country in the world, ranging from low Greek-style pole to the Etruscan tree form, where the grape vines climb up tall trees, much as tropical vines do.
Perhaps the most used type of grape growing can be classified into three main categories:
- Vertical structure or development, which includes the following techniques:
- Pole,
- Guyot,
- Capovolto (Upside down) or Cappuccina,
- Cordone Speronato (Rammed Cord), and
- Sylvoz.
- A ricadere (fall back) with vertical structure, which includes the following techniques:
- Umbrella,
- Guyot Alto (Tall Guyot),
- Casarsa, and
- G.D.C.
- Reclined or horizontal development, which includes the following techniques:
- Pergola Trentina (Pergola Trento style),
- Pergoletta Emiliano-Romagnola (Little pergola Emilia Romagna style),
- Pergoletta Capucci (Little pergola Capucci style),
- Sistemi Campani (Campania region systems),
- Raggi (Arrays) or Belussi, and
- Tendone (Big Top).
Notwithstanding the large varieties of systems inherited from centuries of grape growing practice, some forms that are easier to prune and friendlier to mechanical harvesting have become more popular in recent years. They are:
The Eco-System
In order to produce quality grapes, the ecosystem remains the most important complex of elements upon which the grower can intervene, or better, select and bet upon when starting a vineyard. In fact, the growing techniques alone have very limited effects if there is no compatibility with the environment.
Hill and mountain fields have always been ideal for grape growing.
Tracing the results of centuries of grape growing, one can safely state that great wines are born in hilly or mountainous vineyards all over the world, thoughthere are some notable exceptions such as Napa Valley, California where unique eco-systems provide an extremely favorable environment.
A wide difference between day and night time temperatures during the ripening season is essential to improving the grape quality. Vines growing on hills or mountains take special advantage of variations excursions due to the altitude and major exposure to the range of weather conditions.
Fields located at higher elevations receive more light, thus taking advantage of a more desirable climate as well as of drier soil during the ripening phase. These factors contribute to inhibiting or even eliminating completely the vegetative development, which favors the concentration of sugars, aromas, polyphenols and other active substances that concentrate in the grape.
Vine Variety
In addition to the eco-system and grape growing techniques, the variety of vine chosen is the third element that affects the quality of the final enological product.
Below we provide some examples of grapes that are ideal for the production of specific types of wine.
Vines suitable to production of sparkling wines and spumante wines: |
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Vines suitable to production of fresh, fruity and light wines: |
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Vines suitable to production of wine that ages gracefully for many years: |
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Final Considerations
It is very important to remember that though some traditional growing techniques may be deemed imbalanced or inefficient based upon modern evaluation methods, the specific context from which these methods evolved should not be overlooked.
Each type of growing technique is the expression of the enological history of the territory and the ways growers have molded the vines for centuries to best produce fine wine within specific environments and according to local taste and requirements.
Looking at the Italian production from this perspective, it becomes easier to understand why in some regions growers continue to stick to traditional growing techniques rooted in the past.
Even though the ratio of production-per-acre may be so scant as to horrify modern wine entrepreneurs, the variety of growing techniques used in Italy contributes substantially to the rich and appreciated variety of its enological production.
The need for constant and abundant production, along with the intensive cultivation of the fields available and the request for wines that have a shorter production-to-consumption cycle, sometimes validates and promotes growing systems that would arguably be better abandoned if the measuring stick were based only upon quality and variety.
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