Viticulture
Irrigation and dry farming
Whether to water the vines — a technical question that has become an ideological one.
Overview
Many European appellations restrict or prohibit irrigation, on the grounds that a vine forced to seek water produces more concentrated fruit. Much of the New World irrigates as a matter of course, often because viticulture would be impossible otherwise.
Controlled deficit irrigation gives the vine enough water to survive but keeps it mildly stressed, which encourages the plant to put resources into fruit rather than foliage.
Dry farming produces deeper root systems and greater drought resilience over time, but takes years to establish and gives lower yields.
Climate change is making this less ideological and more practical: regions that never irrigated are having to reconsider.
Sources
Sources consulted
- UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology — University of California, Davis
- INRAE — French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment — INRAE
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Viticulture
Climate and wine style
The largest single influence on what a wine tastes like — larger than grape, producer or winemaking, and the reason the same variety is unrecognisable in two places.
Viticulture
Climate change and wine
Warming is already reshaping where wine is grown and what it tastes like.
Viticulture
Harvest and picking decisions
When to pick — the single most consequential decision a producer makes each year.