Growing Conditions
Soil Conditions
Unlike most agricultural crops, the grapevine does not require fertile, rich, soil to thrive, and the world's finest wines are nearly always produced from poor quality soils where few other crops would be worth planting. The great wines of Bordeaux are produced from soil composed largely of gravel and pebbles, on a base of clay or chalk, whilst the great Burgundies come from acidic, granite soil on a base of limestone.
The thinness of the soil naturally restricts the quantity of the crop, so that fewer grapes are produced, but of higher quality. Also, the poor, free draining topsoil encourages the vine to send its roots deeper in search of water and nutrients. As the roots reach further down, complex minerals are absorbed that will add complexity to the grape and, eventually, to the wine.
If the soil is too rich, too full of nitrogen and nutrients, the vine might produce abundant grape crops, but these will be grapes suitable for eating, not for making wine. The fruit will be too sweet and simple and will lack in complex minerals, sugars, acids and flavours.
Vineyards tend to be situated along river valleys, on gentle slopes where they have maximum exposure to the sun, where the soil is free draining.
Climatic Requirements
The climatic conditions needed for growing quality vines are strictly defined, and vines thrive in two quite narrow bands of latitude: approximately 30-50° North and 30-40° South of the equator.
- Warm, Wet Springs
Spring must be warm and wet (though not too wet) so that the plants can bud and produce the tiny flowers that will eventually become bunches of grapes. - Long, Hot Summers
Summers should be long, sunny, and hot. However, too much heat is counter-productive, as the fruit will ripen too quickly and scorch. - Dry, Gentle Autumns
Autumns should be gentle and relatively dry so that the grapes can reach full maturity and the harvest can be completed before rain or cold can damage the mature grapes. - Cool Winters
Vines need cool winters when they can "sleep" and gather strength for the production of the next summer's crop. However, it can't be too cold though, or the roots of the vine will be damaged by frost, and the plant will die.
These strict requirements exclude much of the northern and southern latitudes, as these are too cold and have too little sun. The equatorial lands are also excluded, as they are too hot, with no period in which the vines can rest. Only between the latitudes approximately 30-50° N and 30-40° S are the climatic conditions right for wines of the highest standard. Wines are made on the margins of these latitudes, but they are rarely consistent or of real quality.
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