Working On Vineyards
Work on vineyards is diverse; there are many skills required and work may range from general labouring through to viticulturists (those that study the science and production of grapes).
The sort of work you would do on a vineyard includes: Species selection and planting, erecting trellising, weeding, fertilising, pest and disease management, irrigation management, harvesting and pruning.
Outline of Viticulture
Vitis vinifera, the European Grape, has been cultivated by man for thousands of years. It probably originated in the Caucasus mountains between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Many areas of temperate Australia are considered suitable for grape production, and there is very strong demand currently for Australian produced wines. The main deterrent to many potential producers are the high establishment costs (can be around $25,000 Australian per hectare), and that it takes about 4 or 5 years before full scale production
is reached. A major advantage, however, is that once established grapes will produce good crops for many decades, if they are looked after well.
Grapes require a warm temperate climate, with minimum temperatures of ‑2 degrees C. while dormant, ‑1 degrees C at bud burst, and ‑0.5 degrees C when in full flower. The root system is deep, and as such can draw water from lower levels of the soil, hence the need for high rainfall or irrigation is only moderate. It does not tolerate wet soils in summer but will tolerate some wetness in winter.
When on a trellis it will tolerate wind reasonably well, but not strong gale force winds. Though sandy soils are preferred, grapes will tolerate most soils provided they are deep and well drained.
WHAT TO PLANT
Table grapes need ample heat and a good water supply such as is found in places like Sunraysia, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and the Riverland region (of Australia). Wine grapes can be grown in a wider range of environments, but generally do not like humid conditions. In fact, wine grape quality often improves the more a vine struggles. However, this must be balanced against the amount produced. Wine grape growers, then, must aim to grow the maximum amount of grapes possible without sacrificing the quality of the grapes, as a wine's quality is directly related to the quality of the grape.
WINE GRAPES
When selecting what to grow, the prime, first concern, should be the suitability of the varieties to your locality. Large vineyards can experiment, but small operations needs to consider their selection very carefully. The number of "degree days" must be calculated, to determine what types of grapes will grow successfully in your locality. Degree days can be determined in the following way.
The high and low temperature reached each day should be recorded for each day of the month during the growing season (October to April in Australia). The highest and lowest temperatures reached are then added and divided by 2, then multiplied by the number of days in the month. This will give you the degree days in the month, and the degree days are then added for the seven month period.
Highest Temperature + Lowest Temperature/2 = Average for Month
(Average for Month - 10) x Days in Month = Degree Days for Month
Degree Days for the growing season = Degree Days necessary for fruit to ripen.
Once you have calculated the degree days, you will have a range of types of fruit to choose from. The type chosen should be based, then, not only on what can be produced, but what will sell the best, or if you intend to produce your own wines, on the type of wines you want to create.
YIELD
The yield per acre should be considered in choosing what to plant. This will obviously affect the economic viability of you operation. In a low to medium rainfall, on a good soil, the varieties blow will generally perform as outlined. As mentioned previously, the yield will also affect the quality of the grape. It may be more beneficial to produce a smaller quantity, saleable at a higher price, than a larger quantity of low quality grapes. Depending on the type of grape and the location, quantity achieved can be as low as 2 or 3 tonnes per acre and as high as 6 tonnes per acre.
Examples:
Variety Tonnes Per Acre
475 mm rainfall 575 mm rainfall
Cabernet Sauvignon 2 ‑ 5 6 ‑ 11
Shiraz 3 ‑ 6 7 ‑ 14
Grenache 4 ‑ 10 8 ‑ 16
Rhine Riesling 2 ‑ 5 6 ‑ 11
PURCHASING PLANTS
It is wise to buy rather than try to propagate your own. The productivity of your vineyard will depend, perhaps more than anything else, on the quality of the plants you plant there. Apart from this, it will generally take you more than a year to produce what can be bought at a very reasonable price.
You must decide whether to buy rootlings (cuttings) or grafted plants. Obviously grafted plants are better, but in a disease free area they may not be necessary. The supplier should also be able to offer you virus free stock. Check prices and quality with several different suppliers. Don't buy off the first nursery you see. Generally, there are vine propagation nurseries to be found in most established vineyard areas. Check in the telephone books for those areas.
SETTING UP
LAYOUT
Square or rectangular plots are easiest to manage and most efficient to use. Tractor operation is easier, access by workers is easier, and there is less wasted space. Generally rows are kept on a north ‑ south orientation, to ensure both side of the vine get equal amounts of sunlight. If there is a prevailing wind, it may however be decided to have rows a right angles to the wind in order.
Vineyards planted on slopes usually have the rows running up and down the slope, in the belief that this allows cold air to move away quicker on frosty nights and warm air to drift up the slope in summer. Usually the orientation chosen will be a compromise of all these considerations.
Rows should be spaced with machine harvesting and pruning in mind, regardless of if you intend to work the block with machines or by hand. This will allow you to keep your options open and will increase the resale value of the land.
SITE PREPARATION
If there is any type of impermeable layer in the sub soil, deep ripping on sub soiling should be done, to break this layer. This is best done when the soil is relatively dry towards the end of summer. (If deep ripping is done in wet soil it can do more harm than good).
Deep ploughing (not rotary hoeing), to 40cm or more, should be carried out at this stage.
All perennial weeds should be eradicated prior to planting. Shelter belts may need to be planted on large properties, particularly in wind prone areas.
PLANTING
Planting should be done over winter when the plants are dormant (ie: without leaves). In frost prone areas, soil is sometimes mounded up around the vine when it is planted, to provide protection from frost damage on the emerging buds. Once the buds start growing, the soil is pulled back away from the plant.
Want to Learn More?
Viticulture -a 100 hour course, starting point for people who have limited time and money and seek nothing more than a sound, broad foundation before moving into this industry.http://www.thecareersguide.com/product.aspx?id=132
Certificate in Horticulture -Viticulture -for something more substantial. If you have little experience with any area of horticulture, you are advised to undertake this course or one of similar content and duration http://www.thecareersguide.com/product.aspx?id=140