Winemaker's Archives -- George TroquatoVine Balance and Yield  Proper vine balance: young shoots on Cinnabar's 18-year old cabernet saugignon vines. There is a commonly held notion in the wine business that yield and quality are inversely related. This simple maxim hides a physiological fact that exists for every grapevine. In reality, proper vine balance is responsible for optimizing both yield and quality. Dr. Stan Howell of Penn State University explains grapevine balance as "the point where reproductive and vegetative growth are maximized in a sustainable way." Reproductive growth is defined as fruit production while vegetative growth is expressed as shoot, leaf and root growth as well as thickening of the vine's perennial structures. No cultural practice has greater impact on wine quality than does balanced crop production said Howell. In his research, N. Partridge of Michigan noted that both under-cropping and over-cropping yielded fruit of lesser quality. He concluded that vines are properly balanced when they produce the greatest amount of ripe fruit with no reduction in vegetative growth. To help balance vines at Cinnabar, Vineyard and Estate Manager Ron Mosley employs the three golden rules of winegrape growing:
Source: The Grapevine Newsletter, Penn State University |