GRAFTING

THE VINE

VITIS VINIFERA

The best wines are made from a type of vine known as Vitis Vinifera. Some of which are known to be three hundred years old. This wine grows best in this broad belts one north and the other south of the equator. Grapes can be grown outside these belts and be turned into wine, but its quality is not considered as high as that from vines grown within these belts. The northern belt includes knowledgeable wine making countries such as France, Italy, Germany and the United States. The Southern belt embraces Chile, Argentina, Australia and South Africa. Vines will yield more grapes when planted in fertile soil on flat land but the wine made from such grapes will seldom be comparable in quality to wine made from grapes grown on sunny slopes in soil that may not be fertile but is rich in the mineral that create a special characteristic, known as bouquet, that is present in all quality wines.

As the grapes mature, their sugar content increases and their acid content decreases. Grape growers thus must know when the balance between sugar and acid is just right to produce the best wine.

  

FACTORS AFFECTING WINE

Finally, the skills of the winemaker is extremely important as it can effect the personality and quality of the wine produced. The vintner's skill can also vary, because of local tradition and will dictate the type of wine made. The market for whom the wine is to be manufactured also calls upon different wine making skills. For examples, if the wine is to be made in a smaller quantity with a high quality or in a larger quantity with a lesser quality.

FACTORS AFFECTING WINE

Another factor is climate. Grape vines like Cool nights and Sunny, warm days, as these help them maintain the right balance between acid and sugar in the grapes. However, too hot weather when the grapes are maturing, near harvest times, will decrease the acid and increase the sugar and will produce a wine that may not age well. On the other hand too little sunshine will reduces the amount of grape sugar and produce a wine low in alcohol and as a result, sugar may have to be added before fermentation to rise the alcohol level. Also rain at harvest time can dilute the grapes sugar and encourage rotting thereby lowering the quality of the wine. Mechanical grapes-picking equipment can give grapes growers more control over the grapes quality than hand picking can as all the grape can be picked quickly when they all at their peak of ripeness. But if rain has spoiled some of the grape

bunches, hand picking will allow those to be by passed.

VIEW OF THE SOIL

FACTORS AFFECTING WINE

Soil is also a factor, the best being one that offers good drainage, which is why gravel and sand are better than clay. Good drainage forces the wines root to seek deep moisture which cause their root to become longer. These longer root are able to reach deep mineral deposits and these mineral, in turn, add flavour to gapes and thus to wine.