Assignment 6

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE | HOSF2062

Week 3A

A closer look at the vineyard The lifecycle of the vine

Introduction

The grapevine - a short biology lesson

Farming practices and sustainability

Pests and diseases

How does viticulture come across in the wine?

Virtual Tasting

Recap

Next class

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE02

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

Discussion Outline

Are table grapes and wine grapes the same?

THE ONLY THING THAT AFFECTS

FLAVOUR MORE IS WINEMAKING.

How much about how grapes grow affects the wines made from those grapes?

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

03

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

04

They are larger, seedless, with

thicker pulp and thinner skins to give them that ideal ‘pop’

when you eat them. Table

grapes have less acidity and also

less sugar than a wine grape. Less flavour - just grapey!

Table grapes

Wine grapes are grown to

produce the sweetest and most potent grapes. They are

smaller, riddled with seeds,

have thicker skins and higher juice content (vs. pulp). So

much more flavour!

Wine grapes

Quality wine, however, rarely tastes

"grapey", like say Welch's grape juice.

SOME OF THE FLAVOURS IN

WINES COME FROM THE

GRAPES THEMSELVES.

A surprisingly complex anatomy

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE 05 GRAPE PHYSIOLOGY

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

06 GRAPEVINE MORPHOLOGY

• HOW THE

GRAPEVINE LOOKS

• THE GENERAL

PROCESSES OF

GRAPEGROWING

• IT TAKES ABOUT 5

YEARS FOR THE

FIRST REAL CROP

All you need to know

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

07Roots They are responsible for absorbing the water and nutrients that the vine needs.

They also anchor the plant to the ground and store carbohydrates, which allow

the vine to survive the cold winter.

Canes and shoots Shoots refer to the new growth that the plant produces every year. Once these

are lignified (turn woody), they are referred to as canes. Every cane has

protuberances along its length, which are called nodes. Life can develop in every

node in the form of leaves and flowers or leaves and tendrils. Precious buds form

at the precise point where the petiole (the leaf stalk) meets the cane.

Leaves They represent the heart, the driving engine of the vine. The leaves are

responsible for photosynthesis, thus setting in motion the entire process that

provides the plant with oxygen and glucose, which is crucially important.

Although glucose concentrates in the fruit, its energy reserves can also be

directed toward the plant's other vital functions.

Greater than the sum of its parts: the anatomy of

a grapevine

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

08 Tendrils As opposed to trees, grapevines cannot stay upright on their own. This is why

they need a structure to hold on to and curl around for support, such as a trellis

wire.

Flowers and berries The flowers are the reproductive organs of the grapevine. They initially grow in

clusters called inflorescences. Every pollinated flower will turn into a berry. This

means the inflorescences will eventually transform into the coveted grape

cluster.

Buds Buds grow where the leaf meets the cane. Once formed, they spend the growth

cycle maturing within a layer of bud scales. At the end of this phase, every bud

contains the structures that will yield shoots/canes, leaves, flowers and tendrils in

the subsequent cycle.

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

09

One-year-old wood During the winter, the mature shoots turn woody and become the new canes.

By the spring, the canes will have become one-year-old wood. Usually, the

grapevine only produces fruit on canes that grew from the buds of the previous

year. This means the grower has to know how to properly manage the one-year-

old wood through winter pruning. This one-year-old wood will be referred to as

either a cane (if it contains between eight and 15 buds) or a spur (between two

and three buds).

Old wood Old wood consists of the plant's trunk and arms or cordons, but not all vines

share the same structure. This wood is older than one year, and its quantity

depends on the pruning method. During the cold winter, the old wood stores

carbohydrates that provide the necessary energy to nourish shoot growth until

the leaves can generate the resources for the vine to fully develop.

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

10

There is a LOT of variety in vine training based on climate, tradition, harvesting techniques, and even weather.

Double guyot is the most common to see in cool climates. It's a French technique, developed in the 1860s, pronounced GI-oh.

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

Wine grape time lapse Courtesy sideyardvineyard.com

11

https://youtu.be/q5Ze9XkfNUE

Grapevines as a species (from the Familia Torres website)

More than sixty grapevine species exist in the world, although only a handful are used

in modern viticulture, for example: 

Vitis Vinifera: The main Eurasian species. Our foremost collaborator and companion. It produces most of the grape varieties that are used in winemaking. Estimates point

to the existence of between five and ten thousand varieties of vitis vinifera.

Vitis Riparia, Rupestris and Berlandieri: These are all North American species, which are not commonly used in winemaking. However, all three of these sub-

species are immune to phylloxera and are therefore used as “hybrid rootstocks,”

meaning they provide the root system for grafted grapevines.

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

12

Sustainable agriculture

Reducing wastefulness and mitigating harm done

to the environment - say recycling waste water or

using sheep to reduce weed growth. Variations can

be practiced easily anywhere.

Organics Prohibits the use of synthetic products to be

applied to the vineyard, like pesticides, fungicides,

and herbicides. Easier in dry and desert conditions.

Biodynamics Promotes the holistic health of the vineyard by

strengthening the plants to fight pests and disease

on their own. You'll see why this is easier in dry and

desert conditions.

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

13

What farming practices do you need to know?

There are a lot of certifications out there - many countries have their own definitions of sustainabilty, in particular.

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

14

VINEYARD PESTS

Phylloxera - kind of the worst one...

Phylloxera is an indirect pest of grapes, damaging vines by feeding on plant sap

from roots, leaves and tendrils, but not causing actual fruit injury. It is often

described as an "aphid-like", sucking insect or a "vine louse".

Native to North America, this tiny insect destroyed most of Europe's vineyards in

the late 1800s and nearly devastated the entire wine industry on the continent.

The solution ultimately presented itself in the form of the "inferior" North

American vitis rootstocks, which were grafted to the "superior" vitis vinifera vines.

There are very few places in the world untouched by phylloxera now, so grafting

is a common practice across the globe.

Others: nematodes, grapevine moths, birds and animals (deer, boar).

15

Powdery Mildew

Downy Mildew

Black Rot

A few other key pests and diseases

THESE HAPPEN TO OTHER FRUITS

AND VEGETABLES TOO

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

16

Grey Rot

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is an important

disease of grapes worldwide. The

disease generally is considered less

economically important than black

rot or downy mildew. However,

uncontrolled, the disease can be

devastating on susceptible varieties under the proper environmental conditions.

Unlike black rot and downy

mildew, the powdery mildew

fungus does not require free water

on the plant tissue surface to infect.

Powdery mildew can result in

reduced vine growth, yield, fruit

quality, and winter hardiness.

Varieties of Vitis vinifera and its

hybrids generally are much more

susceptible than American

varieties.

Downy Mildew

Downy mildew (Plasmopara

viticola) affects many plants and

appears as yellow to white patches

on the upper surfaces of older

leaves. On the undersides, these

areas are covered with white to

grayish, cotton-like fungi. These

“downy” masses are most often

noticed after rain or heavy dew and disappear soon after sunny

weather resumes. As the disease

progresses leaves may eventually

turn crisp and brown and fall off

even though the plant has ample

water.

Downy mildew occurs in cool,

moist weather usually in early

spring or late fall. Spore production

is favored by temperatures cooler

than 65˚F. and by relative

humidities approaching 100%. This

disease overwinters on plant debris

and in the soil. Fungal spores can

be carried by insects, wind, rain or

garden tools.

Black Rot

Black rot, caused by the

fungus Guignardia bidwellii, is a

serious disease of cultivated and

wild grapes. The disease is most destructive in warm, wet seasons. It attacks all green parts of the vine – leaves, shoots, leaf and

fruit stems, tendrils, and fruit. The

most damaging effect is to the

fruit. 

Warm, muggy weather in the

spring and summer, along with

unsprayed fruit of susceptible

varieties, may cause fruit to become

almost completely rotted by

harvest time. Black rot is not

difficult to control if good cultural

practices are followed along with

the use of protective fungicide

sprays.

Grey Rot

Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic

fungus that affects many plant

species, although its most notable

hosts may be wine grapes.

In viticulture, it is commonly known

as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture,

it is usually called "gray mold". The

fungus gives rise to two different

kinds of infections on grapes. The first,

grey rot, is the result of consistently wet or humid conditions, and typically results in the loss of the

affected bunches. The second, noble rot, occurs when drier conditions follow wetter, and can result in

distinctive sweet dessert wines, such

as Sauternes or the Aszú of Tokaji/

Grasă de Cotnari. The species

name Botrytis cinerea is derived from

the Latin for "grapes like ashes";

although poetic, the "grapes" refers to

the bunching of the fungal spores on

their conidiophores, and "ashes" just

refers to the greyish colour of the

spores en masse. MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

17

SOIL / VITICULTURE

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

EFFECTS ON WINE

LET'S REVIEW!

ELEVATION

CLIMATE ASPECT SLOPE

MALIVOIRE | NIAGARA, ONTARIO GAMAY

LCBO # 591313 Not widely seen outside France, Gamay thrives in Ontario and has become

somewhat of a specialty. Ripe and refreshing, with juicy red berry fruit and

peppery spice. Shines with grilled gourmet sausages, roast beef with mashed

potatoes or lamb souvlaki.

19

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE

LOUIS LATOUR | BURGUNDY, FRANCE PINOT NOIR 

LCBO # 297630 (HALF-BOTTLE - 375ML) Ruby colour. Dark cherry and raspberry fruit with an underlying herbal note;

dry, medium-bodied with berry fruit and earth flavours.

LET'S RECAP:

TABLE GRAPES AND WINE GRAPES ARE PRETTY DIFFERENT

There are about five to ten thousand varieties of wine grapes.

PESTS AND DISEASES ARE A CONSTANT THREAT

How you to choose to farm dictates how you'll manage these.

VINES ARE PRETTY COMPLEX STRUCTURES THAT

REQUIRE A LOT OF MANAGMENT TO SURVIVE

Anyone still wondering why wine can be expensive? 20

FOR NEXT CLASS:

REVIEW TOMORROW'S SLIDES AND VIDEOS BEFORE CLASS

Tomorrow is our VINIFICATION lesson - Week 3B

BE SURE YOU ARE UNDERWAY WITH YOUR FINAL

ASSIGNMENT

Now is the time to ask questions if you have them!

FOR NEXT WEEK:

Review the Food and Wine Pairing Principles and Italy slides in

advance so you are ready to dive into Week 4. 21

SOME INSPIRATION:

WINE IS SUNLIGHT, HELD

TOGETHER BY WATER.

Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer (1564–1642)

MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE22

23 MARRIAGE OF FOOD + WINE