Grapes and Wines of the World- Midterm Review

Who were the earliest immigrants to Missouri? Where did they come from, why, and how did they influence early Missouri winemaking? Give an example

- Gottrified Dunden in 1824, published observations of abundant resources

- Hermann= Missouri's first winemaking capital. (terrible soil in Hermann, but grapes grow well in bad soil)

- 1855 = 500 acres of vineyards in production

What is Missouri's state grape? What do we know about its parentage, and how do we know this?

- State Grape: Norton

- Grape is a cross between Vitis Aestivalis and Enfarine Noir

- Small grape from Virginia, Dr. Daniel Norton unhappy with day job, lost wife and newborn in childbirth. Threw himself into his work on his farm.

What major pest decimated European vineyards, and where did it come from? What role did Missouri play in saving the French wine industry?

- Pest= Phylloxera, caused from importing our wines.

- Identified by Charles V. Riley

- Hermann Jaegar gathered and shipped 17 boxcars of phylloxera rootstocks to France.

How did prohibition shape winemaking in the United States?

- Missouri had over 100 wineries

- Missouri wine industry didn't return until 1960's

- Missouri today is increasing by 16% with # of wineries

How do ancient grape fossils help us to understand how Earth is put together?

The ancient grape fossils help us understand how the climate was changing while the plate moved North, and that the Indian plate smashed into the Eurasian plate.

How did the ice age impact the native ancestral varieties of grapes we grow today?

Explain the evolution of plant taxonomy, being sure to include the different systems and how they differ from each other.

Plant Taxonomy:

Systematics: the scientific study of biological diversity and its evolutionary history

Phylogenetic tree of life: The goal of systematics is to discover all the branches of the...

Taxonomy: Branch of science concerned with classification, especially organisms

Theophrastus:

Came up with the idea to systematically classify plants based on their characteristics

Lived in the 4th century BC

Early Latin Classifications:

Long descriptive names for a plant.

Genera was the first name, then the rest of the names are descriptive

Long phrases are called polynomials

Linnaeus:

Born in 1700's, called the "little Botanist" as a child

1753 published a book called Species Plantarum

Group species together

"Father of Taxonomy"

Polynomials turned into Binomials (two words)

Linnaeus still considered the polynomials to be the official plant name, but these binomials were less clumsy to use

Spearmint:

Mentha spicata L

Mentha: genus

spitcata : spicific epithet: species

What sort of information can you get from a phylogenetic tree? How are these put together? What sorts of questions can you answer using these?

A phylogenic tree of life is how scientists look at all the living organisms on the earth and how they relate to each other.

These trees can be made at any scale and can convey enormous amounts of information.

Phylogeny = differences and similarities between/among organisms are seen as products of their evolutionary history.

How is the advancement of DNA sequencing technology a game-changer for the field of evolutionary biology?

DNA sequencing can help us reconstruct past speciation events by looking at the sequence from ancient samples and plants living now to understand the evolutionary path of the past and how today's cultivars are related to each other

Explain how bird feeding preference drove the physical characteristics of wild grape clusters.

All I have in my notes is that birds like smaller grapes lol -Before humans chose the grapes they loved, birds were the ones choosing what the most delicious grapes looked like, consuming them and spreading the seeds.

Explain the major difference in reproductive strategy between wild grape varieties and domesticated ones. How did this happen? What implications does this have on grape clusters from each different type?

Term: Dioecious

Having different male plants and female plants

In order for reproduction and the formation of grapes, you need to have a male vine and a female vine in close proximity and a vehicle for pollen to travel

Wind and Bees transfer pollen.

We have dioecious native grapes and monoecious cultivated grapes. What happened?

Mutation. If you mutate the break between the female and the male anatomy, plants become monoecious. (both male and female parts)

Putting the male and the female plants together creates a "one-stop shop" like Target or Walmart

What is a grapevine phenology? Give an example of a stage. How is climate change impacting this?

Phenology is the study of natural changes or growth and natural development of an organism and its relation to seasonal changes in climate.

There are two reasons for grapevine phenology:

1. To implement vineyard-management practices based on current growth stages; resulting in improved efficiency, reduced labor costs, and improved vine health.

2. To predict more accurately the onset of growth stages in the current season based on historical data, whereby management practices can be best timed for improving efficiency.

Our climate change is no longer following a usual patter, with cold or warm conditions out of season, this makes it hard for growers to know when to plant and when to harvest.

Explain the role seeds play in grape formation and development. Be sure to include seedless varieties in your explanation, and how development of seedless grapes differs from seeded varieties.

Grapes need seeds

-Brand new seeds are a source of the crucial plant hormone auxin, and subsequent fruit development is dependent upon auxin production.

-You need at least one seed for grape formation

-Seedless grapes:

Parthenocarpy: Berries develop without fertilization and lack seeds completely

Stenospermocarpy: Berries contain at least one fertilized seed that is subsequently aborted, leaving a small, soft, undeveloped seed trace. (table grapes, usually!)

List and describe the three stages of berry development. Include the major events that happen in each one, and the characteristics of the grapes during that time.

Berry Growth:

Stage One -

~ Begins immediately after bloom

~ Grapes grow through cell division and cell enlargement

~ Berries are hard and green (they are full of chlorophyll and are photosynthesizing)

~ Low sugar Content

~ Berries are accumulating organic acids

~ This stage lasts 6 - 9 weeks

Stage Two-

~ Berry growth slows dramatically during the second stage

~ Organic acid concentration reaches its maximum

~ Berries still firm, but start to lose chlorophyll

~ This stage lasts 1 - 6 weeks

Stage Three -

~ Rapid berry growth resumes after the lag phase

~ Initiation of ripening at start of this phase (color development)

~ Berry softening (veraison) begins

~ Shift from photosynthetic to heterotrophic

~ Seeds inside turn from green to brown and become hard and desiccated

~ Organic acids decline/sugar accumulates

~ This stage lasts 6 - 8 Weeks

How do you know when it is time to harvest? What sorts of factors go into this decision?

Once grapes are ripe, it's time to harvest.

Many factors are important for harvest date such as:

Variety, Climate, Crop Level, etc.

Berry maturation depends on heat units: expressed in growing degree days (GDDs). The requirement significantly varies between grape varieties.

Low temperatures mean GDD accumulation is slow and ripening is delayed

Large crop lands take more time to ripen.

There is an optimal leaf-area to fruit-weight ratio for each variety (ex: Thompson Seedless' require 18 leaves per cluster to adequately ripen a cluster of grapes).

The most commonly known grape varieties are of the species Vitis Vinifera. What are some other species that are cultivated either as rootstocks or as hybrids? What sorts of qualities are desired from these species?

Vitis Vinifera: the european grapevine. Includes pinot noir, chardonnay, merlot, etc.

Explain the concept of canopy management. What is the ultimate goal? what sorts of activities do growers use to push vine towards balance?

-Canopy Management:

describes both the proactive and remedial measures that growers can use to favorably affect grapevine canopy characteristics

-Goal of any grower:

Vine balance- you have a vine that you can grow from for years. You need to take as fast as its growing to create balance and to make for good grapes and a happy vine. Resources put in vs taking out should be roughly equal

What is the difference between vegetative propagation and grafting? Why do growers use these practices?

-Grafts:

Rootstock (very resistant, good for dry areas)

Graft that on to a rooting variety to get the good quality grapes that survive in droughts.

-Vegetative Propagation:

New plants grow from parts of the parent plant (as opposed to starting plants from seed)

Convincing the piece of plant that you cut off to become its own plant.

Cut off, put them in pot with rooting hormone, they grow roots, plant those in your vineyard.

-The tree of 40 fruit

Artist put 40 different types of grapes in one tree using grafting.

Describe the association between grapevine roots and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. What does each player get out of this association?

Grapevines=Water

70-90% of grapevine fresh mass is water

Woody tissue is 60% water

Vascular bundles is like the plumbing

Water travels from root to hairs from

- Apoplastic route (in between cells)

- Symplastic route (through cells)

- Casparian strip (combines both)

- Grapevine roots associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

How does water move through plants? In your description, be sure to include water transport pathways through the plant body, how stomata work, and the role of transpiration.

-Stomatal Pores

Open up to let CO2 in when filled with pressure.

K+ is pumped out of the guard cell, Solute inside guard cell decreases, drawing water OUT, Guard cells lose turgor and become flaccid, closing the pore.

-Transpiration:

The evaporation of water from plants

-Water comes from in the plants, out through the leaves into the sky

-Try to keep the vineyard leaf free so the vines can keep as much water as possible.

How do grapevines keep time? Why is this crucial in their survival?

How do grapevines keep time? By the day length!

Plants anticipate dawn and dusk, also use temperature

-Entrainment:

Synchronization of clock with environment

-Circadian rhythm:

Repetition. Exhibit a discontinuous growth cycle with alternating periods of active growth (march-oct) and dormancy (nov-feb) (very cold and snowy)

What is grapevine bleeding? Why does this happen and how does it benefit the vine? What does this tell us about the status of the vine?

Grapevine Bleeding is the removal of water from the soil by epidermal cells of roots and movement into xylem under pressure will produce a phenomenon known as "bleeding"

Bleeding contains sap that flows the the xylem tissues in the canes have been severed. It is caused by positive root pressure due to the reactivation of the roots in the spring.

Pruning of grapes in early spring before bud break may lead to bleeding.

Explain the concept of growing degree days. Why do growers use these when deciding what variety to grow at a given site? How are these calculated?

Measured in thermal time or heat units

Grape growing regions classified into distinct growing zones by their GDD standard

GGD= (Tmax+Tmin)/2 - Tbase

Average of the daily maximum and minimum temperature minus the base temperature

Describe the major considerations growers must take into account when choosing a vineyard site.

Climate, Soils, Water, Topography, Crop Hazards and Other considerations (Design, Blocks, Row Spacing)

Why is soil drainage so crucial for vineyards? Explain how soil type and topography can affect this. How could a grower improve the drainage of a site before planting vines?

Textural triangle shows how much of the big three make up the soil:

Sand, Silt, Clay

Ideal soil type is 30% , 30%, 30%

Top soil (on top), Subsoil, Parent Material

Drainage is very important

Compaction: primarily concerned with mechanized vineyards

Ideal soil has:

-Internal water drainage

-Drain tiles

-Organic matter

-Nitrogen

-Texture

-Soil pH

Describe winemaking in ancient Egypt. What role did wine play in culture, and how is this reflected in the evidence we have from ancient Egyptians?

Imported from the Levant because it's not a good place to grow grapes in the sand dunes

Later, they started making wine in the Nile Delta in 3000 BC

It was becoming very popular

-King Scorpions Prescription Wine:

Wine had been spiked with mint, coriander, and sage

Archaeologists uncovered 700 jars containing 4500 liters of resinated, fermented wine

-King tut had a bunch of red wine and some white wine in his tomb.

-Labels said what the type of wine was, place of origin, and names of the winemakers

-Why was wine buried with the dead?:

For comfort of the deceased

Funerary offerings to the spirit of the dead, Ka

-Amphoras:

1. Western amphora- red wine

2. Southern amphora- Shedeh of the estate of aten in the western river

3. Eastern amphora- white wine

4. Red wine for sunset, White wine for sunrise

How did wine fit into the lives of the ancient Greeks? How did the development of pottery push winemaking forward? What are Appellations of Origin, and how did using these set the foundations for modern winemaking?

What do we know about winemaking in ancient Rome? What are dolias, and was ancient Rome wine any good?

How did the church during the Middle Ages impact winemaking today? What role did monks play?

How did pasteurization and refrigeration revolutionize winemaking in the 20TH century?

What was the Judgement of Paris? What did this do for American winemaking?

Outline the major steps during the winemaking process. How do these steps differ between red and white wine production?

What is maceration? How does this process differ between red and white wines? What sorts of factors impact this?

Maceration is the winemaking process where phenolic materials of the grape (tannins, coloring agents, and flavor compounds) are leached from the grape skins, seeds, and stems.

Red Wine:

~ To macerate is to soften by soaking, this is where red wine receives its color.

White Wine:

~ Maceration is avoided or only allowed in a limited manner.

Explain why acidity is so important to wines, both pre- and post- fermentation, and in the finished wine.

How can the addition of purified enzymes help during winemaking?

What is the cap? What impact does the formation of the cap have to do with making a wine? What are some ways to deal with it?

Explain the similarities and differences between standard batch fermentation, continuous, fermentation, and cell-recycle-batch fermentations. What are some pros of using each type, and what are the drawbacks?

What is the difference between spontaneous and induced fermentation? What sorts of wines are made with each?

Spontaneous Fermentation is the fermentation that naturally occurs when the wild yeast and microorganisms that the grapes bring in with them from the vineyard are encouraged to propagate.

Induced Fermentation

What is malolactic fermentation? When does this happen, and what is converted into what? What organism is responsible? What qualities does this impart on wine? Is this desirable or not?

Malolactic Fermentation is a process in winemaking in which tart-tasting malic acid is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid.

Malolactic Fermentation is most often performed as a secondary fermentation.

This process is standard for most red wine production, and common for some white grape varieties such as Chardonnay.

Malolactic Fermentation tends to create a fuller mouthfeel. It is associated with the taste of green apples.

What are some of the sweet wine styles we have talked about? What are some ways to make sweet wine?

Moscato, Reisling, Zinfandel, Ice Wine, Muscat, Port, Sherry.

Ways to make sweet wine:

~ Add Sugar to Fermentation

~ Harvest Late

~ Botrytis (noble rot)

~ Frozen Grapes

What is noble rot? When does this happen?

Noble Rot can be beneficial to grapes. It is a grey fungus. This requires moist conditions, but if the weather is stays too wet it can destroy crops of grapes.

This is deliberately cultivated on grapes to enhance the making of certain sweet wines.

What is carbonic maceration? How is this different from other methods of fermentation? What qualities does this impart on the finishes wine?

Carbonic Maceration is a winemaking technique, often associated with French wine, in which whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide rich environment before crushing.

Carbonic Maceration ferments most of the juice while it is still inside the grape.

The resulting wine is fruity with very low tannins.

What is fortified wine? Give some examples, and how they are made.

Fortified Wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually Brandy, is added.

Examples:

Port, Sherry, Marsala, Madeira

What is terroir? What sorts of components/characteristics go into this?

Terroir is how a particular region's climate, soils, and aspect (terrain) affect the taste of wine. Some regions are said to have more "terroir" than others.

Four Traits of Terroir:

1. Climate

2. Soil

3. Terrain

4. Tradition

What are the five major characteristics that we evaluate in a wine? What factors contribute to each of these characteristics?

The 5 major characteristics are:

Sweetness - can range from bone dry to sticky sweet, wines with lower acidity taste sweeter than wines with higher acidity. In the U.S winemakers can add sugar back into the fermented product.

Acidity - what gives wine its tart and sour flavors. When acidity is too low the wine tastes dull. When acidity is too high, wine tastes sour. Cooler climates = high acidity

Warmer climates = low acidity

Tannin - natural occurring polyphenols found in plants. This is unique to reds, because whites ferment without the grape skin. Comes from grape skin, seeds, and new oak barrels.

Alcohol - comes mostly from fermentation. Plays a huge role in wine aromas. Wines range from 10% to 15%.

Body - how light or how bold a wine tastes. This can be determined by the four factors above.

Compare and contrast the Bordeaux and Champagne growing regions in France. Describe their climates, the allowable varieties grown, and what each region is best know for.

Give some examples of wine laws in France. What factors are regulated in French AOC wine?

How did sparkling wine come to be (e.g how was it discovered)? How did the technological advancements of the time and unique climatological circumstances contribute to its inception?

Describe the major steps in traditional sparkling wine production. Then, describe how the other methods we covered in class are different from these steps.

Why is blending so crucial to the production of sparkling wines? How can winemakers use this to their advantage?