UNIT 1: English for wine industry

Lesson 1. Vineyard. Types of vineyard

I. Vocabulary:

vineyard – a plantation of vines for wine-making (vie, podgorie);

palisade – a straw-stuffed mattress (palisada, gard [de pari]);

trellis – a light framework of crossing strips of wood ( 1.spalier; 2 gratar, implrtitura de nuiele,
zabrele);

pruning – trimming by cutting away dead or unwanted parts (a indeparta uscaturile);

thinning – making less dense or viscous (a dilua, a rari);

aspersion – a sprinkling with water (stropire);

graft – a plant shoot fixed into a cut in another plant to form a new growth (altoiere);

drip – liquid falling in drops (picatura);

irrigation – supplying land with water by streams, pipes (irigare);

rock – a large stone (roca); altitude – height above sea level or above the horizon (inaltime,
altitudine);

slope– upward or downward slant or inclination or degree of slant (panta, inclinare);

hill – a raised part of the earth’s surface, lower than a mountain; a slope in a road (deal, colina);

terrain – land with regard to its natural features (teren, pamant, sol);

drainage – a system of drains (drenaj);

foliage – a cluster of leaves, flowers and brunches (frunzis);

soil – ground as territory (sol);

lapillus (Pl.)-li – a small stony or gassy fragment of lava ejected in a volcanic eruption ( )

root – the part of a plant that grows into the earth and absorbs nourishment from the soil (radacina);

crop - a batch of plants grown for their produce; a harvest from this (recolta);

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What is a vineyard?

Vineyards are areas of land where grapes are grown. Grapes grow on vines that are supported by posts
and wire known as trellises. Grapes remain on vines until they are ready to be picked or harvested.  
Grapes are grown based on their use. Some grapes are grown to be sold to food markets as table
grapes. These are the grapes that you buy at the grocery store. Some grapes are grown to be sent to
wineries to be made into wine. Other grapes are grown to be made into raisins. Raisins are simply
grapes that are picked and dried in the sun until they shrivel up.
Vineyard activities include the following:
 pruning the vines
 picking the fruit
 checking for insects (bugs)
 planting new vines
 repairing and making new trellises
 training vines to trellises
 pulling weeds

Short history about Vineyard

However, the earliest evidence of the existence of a vineyard was found between 6000 and 5000 B.C.,
the term vineyard originated in Europe in the 1300’s. The word "Vineyard" replaced the word
"wingeard". It is a basic merging of the words vine + yard.
A vineyard has various aspects including the science behind management and production. The study of
vineyards is known as viticulture, and this helps understand and improve the wine production
mechanisms through vineyards. Given that the quality and taste of wine is often determined by factors
in the vineyard where it was produced, the vineyard is the foundation of wine and wine making. Wine
making technology improved considerably with the ancient Greeks but it wasn't until the end of the
Roman Empire that cultivation techniques as we know them were common throughout Europe.

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Common vineyard (1910)

Modern vineyards on the banks of the Rhine river in Germany.

The oldest productive vineyard in the world is claimed to be located in Maribor, Slovenia, based
largely on the celebrated Stara trta, a 400-year-old grapevine which grows there and was recognized
as the oldest living example by the Guinness Book of Records in 2004.

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Modern practices
A vineyard with bird-netting.

The quest for vineyard efficiency has produced a bewildering range of systems and techniques in
recent years. Due to the often much more fertile New World growing conditions, attention has focused
heavily on managing the vine's more vigorous growth. Innovation in palissage (training of the vine,
usually along a trellis, and often referred to as "canopy management") and pruning and thinning
methods have largely replaced more general, traditional concepts like "yield per unit area" in favor of
"maximizing yield of desired quality". Many of these new techniques have since been adopted in place
of traditional practice in the more progressive of the so-called "Old World" vineyards.

Recently planted vineyard in Medanos, Argentina.

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Terroir

Vines growing in volcanic lapilli in the La Geria region of Lanzarote. The low, curved walls are
traditionally used to protect the vines from the constant wind.
Terroir refers to the combination of natural factors associated with any particular vineyard. These
factors include such things as soil, underlying rock, altitude, slope of hill or terrain, orientation toward
the sun, and microclimate (typical rain, winds, humidity, temperature variations, etc.) No two
vineyards have the exact same terroir, although any difference in the resulting wine may be virtually
undetectable.

Vineyards are often on hillsides and on soil of marginal value to other plants. A common saying is that
"the worse the soil, the better the wine." Planting on hillsides, especially those facing south, is most
often in an attempt to maximize the amount of sunlight that falls on the vineyard. For this reason some
of the best wines come from vineyards planted on quite steep hills, conditions which would make most
other agricultural products uneconomic.

Viticulture (from the Latin word for vine) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch

of the science of horticulture. Viticulture can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

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Establishing your planting
Preparing the soil

The soil should be free of perennial weeds and well tilled before you plant. You can improve the organic matter
content of heavy clay soil by incorporating sawdust, manure, or compost; use only well-decomposed (rotted)
material. Don’t place compost directly in the planting hole; instead, incorporate it into soil in the whole planting
area. You usually don’t need to add fertilizer at planting time.

Planting

Plant grapes in early spring as soon as you can work the soil. When you buy dormant, bare-root plants, make
sure roots don’t dry out before planting. If you’re transplanting from a propagation bed or nursery, dig plants
carefully to avoid breaking roots.

At planting, prune off all broken roots, trim very long roots, and prune off all but one vigorous cane from
nursery-bought plants. Prune the cane back to two buds before planting. Set plants in a hole large enough to
spread roots without bending them and to the same depth they were grown in the nursery.

Firm soil well around roots to remove air pockets, and water thoroughly. Leave a slight depression around the
base of the plant to make watering easier. Irrigate plants as required.

Young grapevines can’t compete with weeds or established lawn grass for water and nutrients. Keep the
planting free of all weeds. Cultivate shallowly, no deeper than 1 to 3 inches, to avoid injuring roots.

Spacing
The spacing between rows depends in part on the training and trellis system you choose. In backyard
plantings, 9 feet generally is suitable.
Spacing within the row depends on the cultivar you plant and the training system you use. Space
European cultivars 6 to 7 feet apart. You can set American cultivars 7 to 8 feet apart in the row,
because they are more vigorous (have longer internodes).

Trellis

For most of the common training systems you need a trellis. Construction of a trellis is similar to that of a fence.
Take care that the trellis is strong and adequately braced, as crop-laden grape plants are very heavy.

*an inch - 2.54 centimeters ; a foot- 29,57 cm.

Harvest

The most important aspect of harvest is picking at the proper maturity. Fruit colour isn’t a good indication of
maturity. In table grapes, maturity usually is determined by taste or by seed colour, which changes from green
to brown. All grapes become sweeter (and usually less acidic) as they approach maturity. The percentage of
sugar and the ratio of sugar to acid are major factors in determining juice and wine grape quality.

In deciding when to harvest, you must consider the weather and its potential effects on fruit. Rain on mature
fruit may cause shattering, cracking, and an increase in fruit rot—and fruit becomes more attractive to birds as it
matures.

The average temperature must be greater than 50°F for grapes to continue to mature on the vine. Fruit does not
ripen further once picked.

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Mechanical harvesting of grapes in France

acasa
ACTIVITIES:
I. Form the nouns from the following verbs:
to anchor – anchor(ancora)
to treat – treatment(tratare)
to tie – tienis(legatura)
to gauge [ˈgeɪdʒ] –measuring(masurare)
to set – setings(serie,set,grup)
to retain – retainer,restraint(servitor)
to ripen –baking(coacere)
to mature –maturation(maturizare)
to grow – growth(crestere)
to prune – pruneing(curatare)
to root – root(radacina)
to train –training,trainer(antrenament,pregatire)

II. Explain the following phrases:explicatia frazelor

Shoot forth buds – in cer a new growth from a germinating seed,or from a tuber,bud,or the like.(o
noua crestere dintr-o saminta dau dintr-un tubercul ,mugur,sau altele asemenea)
Shoot a line – a-si da aere/importanta/a face pe grozavul –to try to create a false image,as by
boasting or exaggerating(pentru a incerca sa creeze o imagine falsa,cum ar fi laudare sau exagerarea)
Cut one’s own grass – a-si castiga singur piinea, existent –to earn his existence(pentru asi castiga
existent)
Stock one’s mind with learning – a-si imbogati cunostintele; a se cultiva-to enrich their
knowledge(sasi imbogateasca cunostintele)

II. Questionnaire:
1. How is often a vineyard characterized?
2.Since when does the earliest evidence of wine production date? However, the earliest evidence of the
existence of a vineyard was found between 6000 and 5000 B.C., the term vineyard originated in
Europe in the 1300’s.

3.Where is the oldest productive vineyard in the world claimed to be located? The oldest productive
vineyard in the world is claimed to be located in Maribor, Slovenia, based largely on the celebrated
Stara trta, a 400-year-old grapevine which grows there and was recognized as the oldest living
example by the Guinness Book of Records in 2004.

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 4.What has attention focused heavily on? attention has focused heavily on managing the vine's
more vigorous growth

5.What kind of new techniques have since been adopted in place of traditional practice in the more
progressive of the so-called "Old World" vineyards? Many of these new techniques have since been
adopted in place of traditional practice in the more progressive of the so-called "Old World" vineyards.

6.What do other recent practices include?

7.Why are the low, curved walls traditionally used to? The low, curved walls are traditionally used
to protect the vines from the constant wind.
8.What does terroir refer to? Terroir refers to the combination of natural factors associated with
any particular vineyard.
9.What are the vineyard activities?Pruning the vines;checking for insects(bugs);planting new
vines;repairing and making new trellises;training vines to trellises;pulling weeds.
10.What is a viticulture? Viticulture (from the Latin word for vine) is the cultivation and
harvesting of grapes.
1. Cum este adesea caracterizată o podgorie?
2. De când datează primele dovezi ale producției de vin?
3. Unde se află cea mai veche podgorie productivă din lume?
4. Pe ce s-a concentrat puternic atenția?
5. Ce fel de tehnici noi au fost adoptate de atunci în locul practicii tradiționale în viitoarele așa-numite
„Lumea Veche”?
6. Ce includ alte practici recente?
7. De ce sunt obișnuiți în mod tradițional pereții curbi și joși?
8. La ce se referă terroirul?
9. Care sunt activitățile viticole?
10. Ce este o viticultură?

III. Complete the sentences with the correct form of these words:
grape phylloxera- daunatorii de struguri ,weeds-buruieni, trellis posts-stalpi de spalier, grape
picking-culesul strugurilor, pruning-taierea, planting-plantarea, vine training-pregatirea vitei de
vie;

1. ____pruning__ is one of the biggest jobs of the year, it is an activity that is continued all year
round but the main pruning and preparation is early winter.
2. A vineyard with a reputation for its flavors. Until the harvest season (from late June to mid August),
there are Delaware ____grape picking courses available.
3. The leaf galls caused by grape __ phylloxera____ are unsightly and do little damage, however,
infestation of the roots can be difficult to control and can lead to decline of vines.
4. Activities to prepare the site for ___planting_________ include soil preparation, drainage; weed
reduction, removal of wild hosts, deciding when to plant and determining what to plant.
5. Metal ______trellis posts________are being used increasingly in mechanically farmed vineyards
because of their durability and longevity, and because they ease mechanical harvest. 
6. The objective of _ vine training is to achieve a uniform planting of strong, healthy, well-shaped
vines.
7. ____ weeds can always be pulled or cut out, but the question is simply how much can a grower
spend in terms of time and money to reduce weed pressure. The more a grower is able to reduce weed
pressure (seed and perennial propagules) the more economical it is to produce crops.
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IV. OVER TO YOU:
What do you know about the vineyards from our country?
If you have ever had an experience to harvest the grapes, describe the steps of it.
Podgorii despre moldova(caiet)
Fossils of Vitis teutonica vine leaves near the Naslavcia village in the north of Moldova indicate that
grapes grew here approximately 6 to 25 million years ago. The size of grape seed imprints found near the
Varvarovca village, which date back to 2800 BC, prove that at that time the grapes were already being
cultivated. The grapegrowing and wine-making in the area between the Nistru and Prut rivers, which
began 4000–5000 years ago, had periods of rises and falls but has survived through all the changing
social and economic conditions.[ After the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812, when the region became a
province of the Russian Empire, the wine industry flourished again. The main varieties were the traditional
ones: Rară Neagră, Plavai, Galbena, Zghiharda, Batuta Neagră, Fetească Albă, Fetească
Neagră, Tămâioasa, Cabasia and many other local, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Greek, and Turkish varieties.
Băbească neagră is a late-ripening grape variety that is also a mid to late budding vine which contributes
to the grape's winter hardiness and resistance to the viticultural hazards of early spring frost. During the
cold Eastern European winters, Băbească neagră is able to withstand temperatures as low as −18 °C
(0 °F). However the very loose, medium-sized bunches of thin-skinned berries are very susceptible to the
hazards of botrytis bunch rot, downy and powdery mildew as well as drought during the growing season.
If yields are not kept in check by winter pruning and green harvesting, the vine can be very vigorous and
prone to developing millerandage.[4]
While Băbească neagră has many different clonal mutations, like Pinot noir and Grenache, it also has two
notable color mutations—a white-berried Băbească albă, and a pink-berried Băbească gri which are
grown around Huși in Vaslui County.[4]
In Moldova, Băbească neagră (also called Rară neagră) is a late-ripening variety that gives red wines
which are typically rich in acid and may exhibit a pronounced fruity character. It is responsible for the fame
of the Purcari wines in the 18th century, before Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced in Moldova. This
variety is used as a main blend component in the Purcari wine, Negru de Purcari.

Fosile de viță de vie Vitis teutonica în apropierea satului Naslavcia din nordul Moldovei indică faptul că
strugurii au crescut aici acum aproximativ 6 - 25 de milioane de ani. Mărimea amprentelor de semințe de
struguri găsite în apropierea satului Varvarovca, care datează din 2800 î.Hr. , dovedesc că la acea vreme
strugurii erau deja cultivate. Grapegrowing și vinificației în zona dintre Nistru și Prut râuri, care a început
în urmă cu 4.000-5.000 de ani, au avut perioade de creșteri și căderi , dar a supraviețuit prin toate
condițiile sociale și economice în schimbare. [ nevoie de citare ] După Tratatul de la București din 1812 , când
regiunea a devenit o provincie a Imperiului Rus , industria vinului a înflorit din nou. Principalele soiuri au
fost cele tradiționale: Rară Neagră , Plavai , Galbena , Zghiharda , Batuta Neagră , Fetească
Albă , Fetească Neagră , Tămâioasa , Cabasia și multe alte soiuri locale, maghiare , bulgare , grecești și
turcești. În această perioadă, cultivatorii de struguri au obținut sprijin guvernamental și până în 1837 zona
viticolă din Basarabiaa ajuns la 14.000 de hectare, iar producția de vin a ajuns la 12 milioane de litri.
Tot ce stim despre podgorii