Viticulture Glossary

alternative varieties Also known as emerging varieties

ampelography The study of botany that classifies and identifies grapevines. This is done by
comparing the shape and colour of leaves and berries and more recently with the
addition of DNA fingerprinting.

annual growth cycle The cycle begins with budburst in the spring, culminating in autumn followed by
winter dormancy.

anther Part of the stamen, the male organ of the flower, that produced the pollen.

anthesis Otherwise known as flowering - the timing and opening of flowers.

appellation controlee A French wine name which has been officially defined and protected by law.

Baume Developed by French pharmacist Antoine Baume in 1768, the Baumé scale is a pair of
hydrometer scales used to measure the density of various liquids.

berry/berries A succulent fruit, usually containing one to four seeds, which do not burst open when
ripe.

bilateral cordon A vine training system that utilizes two arms, or cordons, extending horizontally from
training the trunk in two different directions along support wires.

Botrytis bunch rot Fungus that affects wine grapes.

Brix Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is a measure of the sugar content of an aqueous solution.
budburst The emergence of new leaves on a grapevine at the beginning of each growing season.

bunch-thinning The removal of undersized, poorly set or tangled bunches.

bush vine An old form of vine training which is low to the ground without the use of a trellis.

cane The mature, brown and woody shoot of the grapevine after leaf fall.

cane pruning After winter pruning, one or two canes with between 8 to 15 buds of 1 year old wood
is left on the vine.

canopy Includes the parts of the vine visible aboveground - the trunk, cordon, stems, leaves,
flowers, and fruit.

canopy management A range of viticultural techniques applied in vineyards to manipulate the vine canopy.
This is performed for vine shape, limiting direct sunlight and disease control, in order
to create an optimal growing environment.

capfall Detachment of the cap (calyptra), opening of flower.

climate Wine region climates are categorized based on the overall characteristics of the area
during the growing season. Examples include Mediterranean, maritime and
continental climates.

clone A vine that has developed differently from other vines of the same grape variety. The
clone may have developed through natural selection by adapting to its environment or
was artificially bred and developed in a control environment in order to advance
favourable characteristics.
Compound bud Compound (or dormant) buds occur at each node along a vine shoot and comprise
primary, secondary and tertiary latent buds. Compound buds that develop in one
season can burst in the subsequent season to give a primary shoot, if their node is
retained after winter pruning. (If the primary latent bud is damaged, for example, due
to frost, the secondary latent bud may burst instead).

continentality A climate attribute that is inversely related to the degree of water moderation.
cordon The outward extensions or "arms" of a grapevine extending from the trunk which
carries the fruiting grape shoots or spurs.

cordon cut Wines made from grapes which have partially dessicated (becoming significantly
sweeter) on the vine.

coulure The result of metabolic reactions to weather conditions that causes a failure of grapes
to develop after flowering.

cultivar (cultivated A grapevine selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained by
variety) propagation.

dormancy The period during a grapevine's growing season where there is no photosynthetic and
very little metabolic activity going on.

downy mildew A major disease of grapevines caused by the fungus Plasmopara viticola which is
unique to grapevines.

drip irrigation A controlled system of irrigation where water is provided to the grape vine drip by drip
in precise amounts by a system of pipes and metered valves.

fertilisation In flowers: joining of the chromosomes of the pollen and the egg cell.

fruitset Qualitative definition: retention of the ovary on the peduncle as berry, after
fertilisation of the ovule.
Quantitative definition: proportion of flowers that become berries.

Geneva Double A horizontally divided trellis that is specifically designed to allow more light into the
Curtain trellis fruiting zone while increasing the surface area of the canopy.

geographic regions A legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the
(appellation) grapes for a wine were grown.

graft The joint made during the grafting of rootstock to the scion of a vine.
grape quality Grape quality is affected by variety in conjunction with the weather during the growing
season, soil minerals and acidity, the time of harvest, and the pruning methods
employed.

harvest The stage when the grape bunches are picked. For winemaking this is when the
berries have reached adequate ripeness, primarily measured by sugar, acid and tannin
levels.

heat degree days The average temperature per day (°C) minus 10, multiplied by the number of days in
the 7 month growing season (Oct to April in Australia). A base of 10 is used because
vines do not function below 10°C.

herbicide A concoction of chemical or organic chemicals used to control weed growth in the
vineyard.

humidity Expressed as a percentage, the relative humidity is the ratio of the amount of water
vapour in the air at a specific temperature to the maximum amount that the air could
hold at that temperature.

hybrid The product of a crossing of two or more Vitis species.

Inflorescence Reproductive organ of grapevine whereby a collection of flowers are arranged on the
rachis.

irrigation The process of applying extra water in the cultivation of grapevines.

juice The extractable fluid contents of cells or tissues of grapes.

late harvest Wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual.

lateral shoot Side shoot that develops from the axillary buds on the stem of the current season’s
growth.

layering A long cane from an adjacent vine is used to replace a missing vine. The new vine
grows quickly as it is nursed by the mother vine to which it is attached.

leaf removal The practice of removing basal leaves and basal laterals to expose the fruit zone to
light and air movement.

lyre trellis A “U” shaped trellis system where the canopy is split horizontally, the shoots trained
upwards, and there are two distinct fruit zones.

machine-harvest Mature fruit is harvested with specialized machines that tease the berries off the
rachis which is left behind on the cane.

macroclimate Refers to the regional climate of a broad area.

mesocarp The part of the pericarp situated between exocarp and endocarp.
mesoclimate Refers to the climate of a particular vineyard site and is generally restricted to a space
of a tens or hundreds of metres.

microclimate Refers to the specific environment in a small restricted space, such as a row of vines.

millerandage Occurs when flowers develop abnormally into either seedless berries or live green
ovaries.

mulch A protective cover placed over the soil to retain moisture, reduce erosion, provide
nutrients, and suppress weed growth and seed germination.

nematodes Microscopic, parasitic roundworm that live in or feed on grapevine roots. They can
stunt vine growth and cause viral disease.

nutrition The use of nutrition (levels of nutrients in the vine) can influence fruit set, fruit quality
and the quality of the end product.

organic viticulture can influence fruit set, fruit quality and the quality of the end product.

over-cropping A vine which bears more fruit than it can ripen in a given season. This usually results in
stunted shoots.

ovule The part of the ovary of grapevine flowers that contains the female germ cell and after
fertilization becomes the seed.

pedicel The stalk of an individual flower.

peduncle A stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of the grapevine
where flowers are formed and eventually the bunch.

pericarp Berry flesh consisting of the exocarp, mesocarp and exocarp.

pesticide A concoction of chemicals used to eliminate pests in the vineyards such as flies, larvae,
moths and spiders.

pests Pests are living organisms that occur where they are not wanted or that cause damage
to grapevines.
pH The degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution, the scale being from 1 (very acidic) to
14 (very basic) with 7 as neutral.

phenology The study of the annual growth of grapevines and how these stages of development
are influenced by seasonal variations in climate.

Phylloxera A minute (ca. 0.75 mm) underground insect that kills grape vines by attacking their
roots.

pollination The process by which pollen is transferred from the anther (male part) to the stigma
(female part) of the grapevine, thereby enabling fertilization and reproduction.

powdery mildew A fungal disease that attacks any green tissue of a grapevine. Symptoms are a greyish
appearance on leaves and young fruit.

precision viticulture The cultivation of grapes using an approach that applies appropriate vineyard
management practices according to variation in environmental factors (soil,
topography, microclimate, etc.). Typically the approach uses technological tools (GPS,
GIS, remote sensing, etc.) to measure local variation, and manages different vineyard
areas accordingly to maximize yield and quality, while minimizing risk and
environmental impact.

primary bud necrosis A physiological disorder whereby the primary bud within a grapevine compound bud
becomes necrotic.

Prompt bud A prompt (or lateral) bud is a bud that develops in the leaf axil next to the compound
(or dormant) bud; it may or may not burst in the same season it develops, to become a
lateral shoot.

propagation the creation of new organisms from seeds (sexual propagation) or vegetative parts of
plants such as grapevine cuttings (asexual propagation).

pruning The removal of living shoots, canes, leaves and other vegetative parts of the vine.
Summer pruning is removal of the shoots through the growing season.

pulp The flesh of the grape. The pulp contains a majority of the water, sugar, and acid that
forms the grape juice extracted from the berries.

rachis The central axis of the inflorescence that bears the flowers/berries.

refractometer A device used to measure the sugar content of grapes.

ripeness The point when a grape has achieved a sufficient balance of sugars and acids.
ripening The physiological changes that occur as grapes accumulate sugar, colour, flavour and
aroma compounds.

rootstock The lower part of a grafted vine that consistent of the root structure of the plant. Since
the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century, emphasis has been on using phylloxera
resistant rootstock but rootstock selection can also control vigour and yields.

row A number of vines planted in a more or less straight line.

salinity The saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water.

scion The above ground vine stock that determines the grape variety.

Scott Henry trellis A vertically split canopy training system which utilises two canes which are tied to an
upper wire and the shoots trained upward. There are also two canes tied to a wire 12”
below the upper wire and those shoots are trained downwards.

seed A unit of grapevine reproduction, capable of developing into another grapevine.

self-pollination Most Vitis vinifera grapevines are hermaphroditic (they have both male stamens and
female ovaries) and are therefore able to self-pollinate.
shoot thinning The removal of unwanted shoots from the vine cordon, head or trunk to in order to
maintain a desired canopy configuration.

site selection There are three aspects that should be considered when selecting a successful
vineyard site: climate, soils and proximity to crop hazards.

skin The outer layer of the grape, which is sometimes referred to as hulls or husks. This is
where most of the colour comes from in red wines as well as tannin.

Smart Dyson trellis A vertically split canopy system where the shoots arise from one cordon. Half of the
shoots are trained upwards and the other half are trained downwards.

soil The upper layer of earth in which grapevines grow. The material is usually black or
dark brown and consists of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.

spur A short pruning unit of current season’s wood. Usually, two buds are retained at
pruning.

spur pruning The pruning of current season’s wood to two buds.

training system The orientation and placement of a grapevine r to facilitate long-term health while
optimizing fruit quality, easing harvest methods and reducing production costs.

terroir The physical and geographical characteristics of a particular vineyard site that give the
resultant wine its unique properties.

titratable acidity A measure of the amount of acid present in a solution, expressed as grams/litre (g/L).
trellis The hardware support structure which supports the vine and the crop.
trunk The main wooden axis of a grapevine that supports the cordon and shoots and is
supported by and directly attached to the roots.

undervine Under vine management impacts weed species and populations . Practices include
management mulching, growing an inter-row and/or under vine cover crop or cultivation.

veraison The onset of ripening and change of colour of the grape berries.

vertical shoot Shoots are set vertically by tucking them between catch wires, resulting in undivided
positioning (VSP) canopies that resemble hedgerows with a narrow vertical canopy.

vine capacity The total amount of growth (amount of dry matter) produced in a season; fruit, shoots,
leaves, roots and increment of old wood.

vine performance A measure of root and shoot growth, yield, and grape quality.
vineyard A place where grape vines are grown for production purposes.
viticulture The cultivation of grapes.
Vitis Vinifera The genus and species names of our most popular wine grapes.
water stress The physiological states that grapevines experience when they are deprived of water.
weather The state of the atmosphere at a particular time in a wine region. Influencing factors
yield A measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per vine (or per area of
vineyard).

yield estimation Estimation of total amount of crop in a block or entire vineyard.