Centre Projects
Investigation of the interaction between site (ie, soil characteristics) and crop load/leaf area on flavour and aroma development in Sauvignon Blanc grapes
Brief:The North:South row orientation of grapevines grown on the Wairau Plains are generally at right angles to changes in soil texture. This results in differences in vine development along rows of vines and potentially marked changes in vine phenotype and fruit composition. This project is to test the following hypothesis:
• Other factors being equal, vines growing
on soils with a greater water/nutrient holding capacity
will have a higher leaf area: crop load ratio.
• Up to a certain point, these vines will ripen fruit earlier,
and as a consequence will have achieved target ripeness
before the premature leaf fall often associated with gravel
areas of the vineyard. As a result, fruit will exhibit
less variability in composition, compared to vines in
the same vineyard carrying a greater crop load.
• The lower fruit exposure will result in fruit with higher
acidity and methoxypyrazine concentrations at a given
brix.
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