1. (a) On an Australian map, show where the main viticultural regions are located. On the map colour-in the major viticultural regions and provide a key outlining the wine varieties or table grape varieties that are grown in these regions.
(b) Describe the wine varieties grown in these regions and a brief description of the soil types and what effect the soil has on the varieties selected.
Hunter Valley – The Hunter Valley is Australia’s oldest wine producing region, dating back to the 1860s. Chardonnay, Semillon and shiraz are the top varieties grown in the region. The soil is quite varied across the region, Shiraz does best on red duplex and loam soils and Semillon does best on the sandy alluvial flats.
Southern Highlands – With vineyards 700 metres in altitude, Generally the region is cool, moist and slightly humid. The top varieties in the region are Cabernet sauvignon and Blends, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. The principal viticultural soils are those derived from basalt and shale both soils incline to acidity, which may be corrected by the addition of lime.
Murray Darling – The Murray Darling is the second largest wine region in Australia, The Murray Darling specialises in Chardonnay, Alternative Varieties and Shiraz. The soil is unique to the Murray River system and is known technically as calcareous earth, ranging from brown to red-brown loamy sand, sandy loam or loam. Overall, the soil supports the vigorous growth and high grape yields.
Riverland – Set within a panoramic backdrop of limestone cliffs, with their layers of colour and texture, the Riverland follows the turns of the Murray as it heads toward the Ocean. The Top Varieties are Alternate (Including a rise in southern Mediterranean), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Shiraz. The soils of the Riverland vary significantly. The two main types are river valley soils, consisting of sandy loams over clay subsoils, and Mallee soils on higher ground, consisting of wind-blown sands over lime and clay layers.
Margaret River – The Margaret River is in the south-west corner end of Western Australia, is one of the most isolated wine regions in the world. They produce around twenty per cent of Australia’s premium wine from only three per cent of Australia’s total grape crush. Cabernet Sauvignon, this is the hero variety for many in Margaret River. Often blended with Merlot. These are alos accompanied by Chardonnay and Semillon.
(c) Discuss the effect of climate and aspect on grape production.
Good grapes make good wine, and good grapes come from their biologically matched climate Climatic factors such as temperature, sun exposure, fog exposure, wind exposure, rainfall and humidity all play a role in grape production. Grapes experience their best growth when near large bodies of water as 22 inches of water or rainfall is required to give the vine the best growth. Wine grapes also need a lot of sun exposure to receive the full bodies taste, they need to catch up to 1440 hours of sunlight to reach a mature stage. Sun is easily captured if the grower shapes his tree into a V shape to allow easy access for sun. Fog is also important in wine grape growing, as it acts as a temperature moderator and some specific grape types seem to thrive better with extra fog exposure. Wind exposure needs to be balanced out, it is good in small amounts where as large amounts can separate seeds and widen vines. Amounts of humidity need to be controlled as it can cause the vine to mildew and disease, however it is responsible for botrytis Cinerea.
A vineyard’s aspect refers to the direction that the slope faces. Aspect affects the angle that the sunlight hits the vineyard and thus its total heat balance. Aspect is more important in higher latitudes where radiation is weaker, due to the angle of the sun, and light interception may be limiting to growth. Southern-facing Vineyards warm earlier in the spring and the vines may undergo bud break earlier than vineyards with northern aspects. Western-facing slopes are a popular choice for late-maturing varieties as they promote fruit ripening in the waning heat and daylight of fall. Eastern-facing vineyards receive the first of the morning radiation warming canopy and soil temperatures fastest when temperatures are generally at their lowest and most limiting. Northern-facing Aspects In cool climates where summers are cool and growing degree days are low, northern slopes should be avoided and southern aspects preferred to allow maximum heat.
2.(a) Define Integrated Pest Management (I.P.M).
IPM is a systematic plan which brings together different pest control tactics into one program. Integrated pest management is a balanced, tactical approach
to pest control. It involves taking action to anticipate pest outbreaks and to prevent potential damage.
(b) Discuss how it can be used in the viticulture industry.
Grape yield, berry and wine quality can be severely affected by vineyard pests and diseases and managing these in a changing climate can be challenging. Insecticides brought a revolution in insect control, however using them in the viticulture industry could taint or destroy the grape due to the harmful chemicals. Thus a variety of Cultural, Mechanical and biological Pest management Techniques should be used.
(b) Discuss how ONE of these insects can be controlled by an I.P.M Program.
There are many ways to control Leaf Eating Caterpillars, they are hidden most of their life and can cause serious damage even when numbers are low. However, many plants, especially perennials, can tolerate substantial leaf damage, so a few leaf-feeding caterpillars often aren’t a concern. Handpicking and natural enemies often provide sufficient control.
Prune off rolled or webbed leaves, and handpick caterpillars from plants, kill the insects by crushing them or by dropping them into soapy water.
4. Research THREE common diseases of grapes and discuss how they can be managed by the producer.
Grapevine diseases such as Powdery mildew, downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot will often cause significant yield reduction and endanger the durability of vineyards. To Manage these three diseases, an effective IPM program should be in place. Powdery Mildew can be managed by Using canopy management techniques to encourage air movement, careful use of water and the use of DMIs. To eliminate Downy Mildew Practices which encourage air movement and sunlight and spray penetration into the canopy can reduce development and severity of the disease. Finally for Botrytis bunch rot, create an environment which is unfavourable to the disease by creating easy access to the grapevine. Use pruning and thinning to minimise congestion, try to limit vine damage while doing so. Select less vulnerable varieties for planting in high risk areas.
5. Technology is advancing across all areas of Agriculture. Research ONE technology that is advancing the viticulture industry. Explain how it works and the features it has to create a more efficient wine industry.
Robots and robotic-based vision systems are slowly replacing the tedious, time-consuming tasks involved in wine production. Although this technology is in several industries, they are now making their way towards the Viticulture industry. numerous systems are now under development to perform the tasks of planting vines, pruning the vines, analyzing grape yield and type, picking, sorting and crushing grapes. These all used to be labour instensive and tedious tasks which are now autonomous. This is seen in the new VineRobot that uses color cameras, IR thermography and GPS techniques to obtain agronomical and physiological data from the vineyard. This will save the farmer extraordinary amounts of time and will also reduce the cost of manual labour.