The Romans still recommended 50,000 vines per hectare; this ruled out mechanical cultivation of the vineyard from the outset. In the middle of the 19th century, the average density was still 20,000 vines per hectare, with yields of no more than 40 hectolitres per hectare. Today, the vines are planted 1.5 to 2 metres apart (depending on the country and wine-growing region, as well as any regional requirements).
Yields per vine
In general, it is customary to plant an average of 5,000 vines per hectare (see vine training). On a rough average, one vine yields 1.5 to 2.5 kg of grapes for reduced-yield quality wine, which results in 1.5 to 2 bottles of wine of 0.75 litres each. For specialities, or Prädikats such as Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese or Eiswein, it is considerably less. For the grape varieties grown in Germany and Austria, an average of around 55 to 75 litres of must can be expected from 100 kilograms of grapes at normal ripeness. The yield quantity and grape quality in the vineyard is controlled by the winegrower through various measures throughout the year, including pruning and foliage care, as well as thinning out (green harvest) and grape division or grape breakage.
Calculation formula
The yield is calculated using the following formula: average number of grapes per vine x average grape weight in kg x number of vines per hectare gives the yield in kg/ha. A more precise formula, taking into account specific values, comes from the website "Dienstleistungszentren Ländlicher Raum Rheinland-Pfalz": (pruning [eyes/vine] x budding rate [%] x average number of grapes/vine x average grape weight [g/grape] x number of vines/ha) / 1000 = yield [kg/ha]. An example is (12 eyes/vine x 90% x 2.2 bunches/shoot x 120 g/grape x 5000 vines/ha) / 1000 = 14,256 kg/ha. The specific values per grape variety/vine, such as weight/number of grapes, are listed under the keyword grapes.
Low yield = higher quality?
Yield is one of the most important factors influencing the production of top-quality wines. As a rule, lower yields also result in higher quality. An over-yield of grapes usually has a negative effect due to a lack of sugar, colouring and aromatic substances. Does this mean that high yields generally mean poor quality? To be precise, the "right" relationship between quantity and quality has not been fully clarified and is also heavily dependent on other factors such as soil type, vine training, stocking density, the ratio between foliage and grape quantity, grape variety with its rootstock and the type of pressing. However, it is not only the number of vines per hectare, i.e. the planting density or the available space per vine, especially its root system, that has a major influence, but also the yield per vine.
In the Grand Cru locations in Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy, the vines often only yield half a kilogramme of grapes, but there are up to 10,000 vines in very tight rows on one hectare. Such a high density is also occasionally found in the German Moselle wine-growing region. In Bordeaux, red wines from Cabernet Sauvignon produce top wines with relatively high yields, but in Burgundy, the quality of Pinot Noir is problematic with yields of more than 50 hl/ha from hillside vineyards. Relatively high yields can therefore also produce good quality. For the production of simple consumer wines or distillates, however, mass producers (varieties with high yields) are deliberately used.
A list of legal maximum yields per hectare in descending order: Soave 140 hl, Chianti 100 hl, Rheingau 84 hl, Barolo 80 hl, Brunello di Montalcino 80 hl, Austria for all growing regions 67.5 hl, Champagne 60 hl, Rioja 60 hl, Beaujolais 50 hl, Saint-Émilion 45 hl, Pomerol 40 hl and Priorato 10 hl. Individual producers set their own particularly low limits, significant examples being the French wine estates Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with 25 hl and Château d'Yquem with 9 hl, as well as the Spanish wine estate Dominio de Pingus with 12 hl per ha.
Wine law requirements
The wine market organisation adopted by the EU in 1999 obliges the member states to set a permissible yield per hectare for each quality wine in terms of grapes, must or wine, taking into account the yields of the ten previous years, whereby only the vintages with satisfactory quality are to be taken into account. The countries may determine the yields differently according to the criteria of growing region or part of the growing region, grape varieties or groups of grape varieties and quality groups on their own responsibility. The excess quantities may not be placed on the market.
Yield limits are an important criterion for the categorisation/classification of wines within the quality systems not only within the EU, but also in most wine-growing countries. This can also vary depending on the wine-growing region, wine-growing area or, as in the Romance countries, per appellation. But how can compliance be verified? Apart from the fact that quality-conscious producers themselves have a great interest in achieving a reduction in yield through targeted measures, monitoring is carried out by wine authorities. However, it goes without saying that the authorities cannot check the grape harvests of all producers on site. The practice in Austria, which is similar in many countries, is explained here as an example. The Austrian Wine Act 2009 defines the quantity restriction:
§ Section 23 (1) Winegrowers (cultivators of vineyard areas) may not market more than the maximum quantity per hectare of Land, quality or Prädikat wine or of grapes intended for their production per harvest of a vintage. (2) The maximum quantity per hectare shall be 9,000 kg of grapes or 6,750 litres of wine per hectare of vineyard area entered in the vineyard register and planted for the production of Land wine, quality wine or Prädikat wine. (3) If the maximum quantity per hectare is exceeded, the entire quantity of the harvest may only be marketed as wine without a grape variety or vintage designation. Verification:
A harvest declaration must be submitted annually by each winery by the deadline of 30 November. This shows the harvest volume for the quality levels covered by the yield per hectare regulation. The BKI authority calculates whether the maximum yield per hectare has been complied with in relation to the total wine-growing area declared by the business. If this is exceeded, the above-mentioned sanctions apply. That sounds very rigorous, but in reality it is nowhere near as extreme. This is because the harvest declaration can be broken down into wines with and wines without a maximum yield per hectare (formerly table wine). This means that a company that harvests more than the 9,000 kg/ha in total would only have to "sacrifice" a "partial quantity" with a corresponding area for the "wine from Austria" (without yield restriction).
In addition, the maximum yield per hectare calculation is based on the cultivated vineyard area (sum of productive and non-productive area). This means that young vineyards with little or no yield must also be included. Furthermore, the maximum yield per hectare is the same across all quality levels (max. 9,000 kg/ha). This means that a Prädikat wine producer who, for example, harvests 3,000 kg of a Trockenbeerenauslese on one hectare can therefore harvest 15,000 kg on his second hectare. This means a total of 18,000 kg on two hectares without exceeding the permitted value. As already mentioned, however, quality-conscious producers often fall far below the yield limits.
Further information
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). All work and tools in the vineyard during the vegetation cycle are listed under vineyard care.
Manual harvesting: By User:Stefan Kühn, Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
high yield: All a Shutter / Shutterstock.com
Mechanical harvest: By Erhard Kührer, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, Link
