A Technical Guide
for Wine Producers

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Wynboer Tips for January

PLANNING

  • Make preparations for pressing - ensure that all equipment is in order and double check the grading system.
  • Plan and schedule establishment actions for current planting year, inter alia soil preparation and also do establishment research and planning for establishment in 2010 so that plant material may be ordered timeously.
  • Order cover crop seed, fertiliser, lime, etc for post-harvest applications.
VINEYARD PROGRAMME

Irrigation

  • Irrigate according to the demand of the vines, but make sure to take wine objectives and the expected harvest date into account when making decisions about irrigation.
  • High moisture stress before the harvest is not conducive to optimal flavour and colour formation and good grape analyses.
Canopy management
  • Tip actively growing vines to improve translocation to bunches – no active growth after véraison.
  • Break out leaves if the canopy above the bunch zone is too dense for good aeration and does not permit sufficient exposure to sunlight.
  • Remove green and poorly coloured bunches at 80% véraison for high quality wine objective.
Disease and pest control
  • Keep up the necessary preventative programmes for fungal disease especially on late cultivars, but obey abstention periods.
  • Monitor vineyards throughout for mealybug and control where necessary with the correct pesticides.
Weed control
  • If weed growth is problematic, control weeds on the berm ("bankie") to eliminate competition for water and nutrition.
Vine development
  • Remember not to neglect the development of young vines.
Sampling and harvest
  • Monitoring of ripeness should start in good time. Ensure that picking takes place at the desired degree of ripeness in line with the wine objective.
  • Maintain contact with winemaker to plan harvest date and arrangements.
FINANCIAL

Contact Gert van Wyk for information about:

  • Viability, cost and profitability analyses.
  • Financial study groups/production plan (financial overview or industry branch analyses).
  • Economic and industry related articles.
  • Economic and industry related presentations.
  • Collection and distribution of representative agri-economic industry information.
Compiled by: VinPro Consultation Service
For more information contact Annamarie van Onselen at (021) 807-3027.

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