Wine made in the vineyard
If you love wine, you will no doubt have a producer, variety or style you return to again and again.
And if you have planted or intend to plant a vineyard, having a stylistic goal in mind means your vineyard can do most of the work for you.
The world’s most desirable wine styles are created in the vineyard at the direction of the winemaking team who are aiming for varietal or stylistic perfection.
Still or sparkling, destemmed or whole bunch, natural or conventional – these are just some of the considerations which the vineyard team need to take into account from pruning through to harvest.
The price-point of your wines will also determine how you manage your vineyard.
Senior Vinescapes Viticulturists, Rob and Cameron took us through a series of questions about wine styles to help guide winegrowers, on how they can deliver consistent fruit of quality to the winery each harvest, which aligns with the direction of the brand and business.
Do you want to create ultra-premium sparkling or still wine?
Vinescapes viticulturist Rob Poyser who has winemaking experience in the UK and France, said the old adage ‘wine is made in the vineyard’ is particularly true if you’re working toward a distinctive, high-value style of wine.
“The way we grow grapes really needs to be done hand-in-hand with the winemaker,” said Rob.
“Surprisingly there are many sites in the UK where the grape growing and the winemaking are kept very separate, but if you look to the best wine producers across the world, the brand and product vision drives how the vineyard team prune each vine, the average tonne of fruit per hectare to aim for, and the specific moment and way to harvest.
“On a recent trip to Chablis for example, vignerons we spoke to were focused on flavour concentration. Yield was much less important.
“Winemakers directed the work in the vineyard based on the flavour profile they were looking for,” said Rob.
“I’ve also worked for wine companies where senior members of the vineyard team are closely involved in the blending process, benchmark tastings and work together with the winemaker to decide on vineyard refurbishments, clonal material and any changes to viticultural practices.”
Rob suggested the benefits of having a winery and vineyard team working in unison toward a shared goal means the winemaking process is tailored to the fruit quality and vineyard activities are designed to deliver the best possible fruit.
“Ultimately, it produces a more satisfying and rewarding experience for everyone, and most especially the customer!”
What price point are you aiming for with your wine?
Cameron Roucher who has worked in New Zealand, Australia, England and now works with clients in Guernsey, Denmark and Sweden, said knowing your end goal in terms of price-point and market positioning can be a powerful tool in the vineyard.
“If you are aiming to reach a market willing to spend upward of £25 per bottle, you need to ensure the quality is aligned to customer expectations.
“In this instance, you will likely sacrifice yield for concentration.
“You will also need to consider your inputs. We would advise more attention to your vineyard is required to prevent disease and performing consistently each and every year.
“On the other hand, if the business is more focused on volume sales – machine harvesting, producing higher yields and careful cost management could be the key to deliveing a good wine with profitable outcomes.”
Cameron explained in his experience working for a globally successful wine brand focused on volume sales in Australia, the focus of the vineyard team was to optimise yield within clear and strict budget parameters.
In contrast, in super-premium vineyards, Cameron said there is an understanding for the need to invest more to develop very deliberate fruit characteristics, and hand-harvest fruit to the winery at a very precise moment.
How do you produce Natural (Orange), Rosé or Charmat wines?
There is a little more flexibility in how you grow fruit for styles such as rosé, non-traditional sparkling or natural wines, said Rob.
“Price point of course matters – if you have high value wines, you still want to give the vines a lot of focus and attention, however the winemaking processes can work more with the fruit to develop texture and character.
“Sweeter styles obviously need to rely on riper fruit, so getting the fruit to full ripeness and beyond will be the focus of the vineyard team; dry wines need to be picked at perfect ripeness or a touch early, but there is more opportunity for the winery team to enhance any deficiencies or apply different methods in a way you cannot if the aim is to produce a specific house style or wines which are true to their varietal expression.”
Rob outlined this is often why these styles are popular in emerging wine-growing regions when the vines are getting established, as it takes time to understand the grape quality each vineyard block is capable of producing.
“I love natural wines for this reason. It gives us a chance to go on an adventure of winemaking styles and enjoy the creative hand of the winemaker.”um dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
What does it mean to grow eco-friendly or sustainable wine?
A strong advocate for regenerative viticulture, Cameron said there are many ways for winegrowers to achieve eco-friendly outcomes in their vineyard today which go beyond the rigorous certification processes required for organic or biodynamic wines.
“I am fully supportive of winegrowers who want to pursue organic or biodynamic viticulture, however it is very comforting for our industry to know there are ways to achieve substantial environmentally-friendly results and improvements using techniques which are less time and sometimes cost prohibitive.”
Cameron advised each site has different ecological priorities.
“Some need intense soil regeneration, others have challenges with too much vigour and every season can bring various pest or disease considerations.
“The work we do in the vineyard to manage these challenges in an environmentally friendly manner, the wine business as a whole benefits by reducing the carbon footprint of production and giving customers the assurances they are looking for in eco-friendly wines.”
Overall Cameron and Rob insisted achieving the best possible results requires the brand, business, winery and viticulture strategies to be carefully aligned and worked through together, so the wine presented to customers at the cellar door, on the retail shelf or in a restaurant menu is exactly as it is intended.