VINEYARD MANAGEMENT

Once the vineyard site is established, the management process begins.  The soil must be worked, vines must be planted, and trellises must be laid.  Any irrigation systems must also be implemented, and cover crop planted. When the vines start to grow, pruning should be done to ensure healthy vine and grape maturity.  Close monitoring of fruit is also essential to producing quality winegrapes.

Grape Development - Understanding the grape-growing process, from vine to wine, is extremely important if one wants to produce excellent grapes. A vineyard manager must closely monitor the grape from bud to veraison to harvest.  It is good to perform detailed chemical analysis or lab tests on the grapes if possible.

Groundwork - Grapevines are capable of growing very deep into the ground, but are usually concentrated to just the top three feet of soil. Generally, the ground must be tilled one year in advance of planting, and any weeds or bigger objects removed. Vineyard orientation and vine and row spacing must also be considered. Cover crops planted between the rows should be considered as a means to control erosion and promote soil quality.

Irrigation - Not all areas need water supplements.  The average vineyard needs only about 24 inches of rainfall per year to yield quality grapes. In fact, it is often desirable to have less rainfall rather than more, which deprives the vines in a way that produces higher quality fruit.

Pruning - Controlling vine growth is important to producing vines that yield good fruit. Dormant vines should be pruned annually, during the cold season. Pruning the vines promotes a proper balance between overproduction of fruit and undercropping.

Training Systems - When grapevines begin to grow, they need support systems for the branches.  Trellises are the most popular type of support system currently in use. One must consider the variety of materials used, plus trellis spacing and height.