Chapter 4

Vineyard Site Selection

Water Requirements and Quality

With the high cost of vineyard establishment and maintenance an adequate supply of good quality water is a must in when selecting the vineyard site.

Requirements

While climate and humidity play important roles as well as the soil, a typical grape vine needs 25 to 35 inches (635 to 890 mm) of water a year, occurring during the spring and summer months of the growing season, to avoid stress. If much of the vines water needs are met by rainfall the distribution rather than the total amount of rainfall is important. Too much or too little water at a crucial time is deleterious to wine quality. Excess vine vigor resulting from rain before, but even more crucially after veraison can damage fruit quality by causing increased disease and berry size and impede fruit ripening.

Quality

The well water should be tested to determine its suitability for grape The well water should be tested to determine its suitability for grape production. A sample should be analyzed for pH, EC, carbonates, bicarbonates, sodium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrate-nitrogen, and sulfate.

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