Creating a new vineyard
The planned establishment of a vineyard or the planting of vines in compliance with all laws, observance of all criteria and the necessary measures are described in detail under vine establishment plan.
Environmental protection & sustainability
Until the 1950s, it was common practice worldwide to use chemical agents on a massive scale in the fight against pests because little was known about the negative effects. Climate change also contributes to negative developments. The conventional agrochemical industry of today, with its large-scale use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides to combat pests such as insects, weeds and microorganisms, has come under increasing criticism since the 1980s and is seen as incompatible with sustainability and organic farming. However, a radical rejection of these practices is hardly realistic in the short term due to crop failures. The targeted and well-dosed use of modern agrochemicals can help to combat crop failures and thus world hunger.
Increasingly, many winegrowers and producers around the world are using environmentally friendly, sustainable forms of production such as organic viticulture with the special forms of biodynamic viticulture and bioenergetic viticulture to protect the ecological balance, promote beneficial organisms and preserve biodiversity (variety of species). These prescribe strict guidelines regarding plant protection and the associated control of vine enemies (pests) with restrictive to prohibited use of pesticides, as well as vine and soil care with permitted fertilisers.
The rules and regulations of the many organic associations are usually even more rigorous and stricter than those set out in the EU regulations that apply to all member states. Some of these concern not only vineyard care, but also cellar technology. This includes, for example, the production of organic wines, for which there have also been EU guidelines for the type of winemaking itself since 2012. Some of these techniques are not uncontroversial and are perhaps more esoteric, such as taking into account the phases of the moon or playing music to the vines.
Methods & means
Many of the methods and related remedies listed below are alternative. However, keywords related to vineyard management are also listed.
Lowering to fallow
Canopy management to fungicides
Stingy shoot to slurry
KIP/IP to beneficial organisms
Organic viticulture to precision viticulture
Vine training plan to manure
Taglio del Tralcio to rootstock
Vegetation cycle to topping
Further information and sources
A video (click to view) shows the cycle in the Robert Weil vineyard from pruning to thinning out.
For the production of alcoholic beverages, see Champagne (sparkling wines), distillation (distillates), spirits (types), winemaking (wines and wine types) and wine law (wine law issues).
Particularly recommended books on vineyard management, which have also been used extensively as sources with the kind permission of Ulmer-Verlag, are
Der Winzer 1 - Weinbau (Verlag Eugen Ulmer - Stuttgart)
1999: Edgar Müller, Erwin Kadisch, Gerd Schulze, Oswald Walg
2008: Edgar Müller, Oswald Walg, Hans-Peter Lipps (begr. E. Kadisch) - 3rd edition
Viticulture (Verlag Eugen Ulmer - 2000 Stuttgart) Ernst Vogt, Günter Schruft
Pictures
Defoliation: Mathias Lutz
cover crop: By Martin Mehofer - Own work, CC BY 3.0 at, Link
training: By Jason DeRusha - o. p. Flickr as Mondavi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Gibberellin: By Lee Spahr - Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Irrigation: Netzteam Meyer Zwimpfer AG
Grape harvest: Château Pichon Baron - photo Vinexia.fr
Grape division: Robert Weil
Stitching: DWI (German Wine Institute)
