Beverage Dynamics Summer 2024 | Page 6

VINSIGHTS

Farming for Quantity Vs . Quality

A staff training infographic worth 1,000 words by MARNIE OLD
Fine wines taste different from mass-produced wines for the same reasons that heirloom tomatoes from your garden taste different from supermarket tomatoes .
This is driven more by wine ’ s raw material than by the winemaking process itself . The grapes for value-oriented wines are cultivated very differently from those destined for super-premium wines , even if they are of the same varietal and grown in the same appellation . Vineyards for bulk wine and premium wines are managed with opposing priorities in terms of agricultural philosophy , and productivity in terms of tons of fruit grown per acre of vineyard land . •
Marnie Old is one of the country ’ s leading wine educators . Formerly the director of wine studies for Manhattan ’ s French Culinary Institute , she is best known for her visually engaging books published by DK such as Wine : A Tasting Course and her popular Wine Simplified series of wine tutorials on YouTube . Marnie currently serves as director of vinlightenment for Boisset Collection .
FARMING FOR VOLUME : MASS MARKET WINE
Value-oriented vintners rarely own their own vineyards and almost invariably purchase their grapes from separate growers . These growers must operate at maximum efficiency to keep their fruit pricing competitive and viable for bulk winemaking . Farming for the mass market typically requires conventional methods that boost crop yields , such as irrigation ( where permitted ), mechanization and reliance on chemical inputs like fertilizers , herbicides and fungicides to keep the final wine prices low .
MAXIMIZES EFFICIENCY
RELIES ON MECHANIZATION
USES CHEMICAL INPUTS
AIMS FOR HIGH CROP YIELD
FARMING FOR EXCELLENCE : LUXURY FINE WINE
Ambitious vintners aiming for quality over quantity are more likely to be farming by hand and possibly even growing their own grapes on their own land . Since bumper crops can dilute wine ’ s flavor and compromise its ageability , their vines are generally pruned more rigorously to suppress total grape output per vine . When excellence is the goal , vineyard management is more likely to be done by hand and as naturally as possible , often with little or no chemical intervention . While these methods cost more to execute and yield less fruit , generations of experience among winemakers have proven them to reliably produce superior grapes that make better , more age-worthy wines .
MAXIMIZES QUALITY
CULTIVATES VINES BY HAND
USES NATURAL FARMING
AIMS FOR LOW CROP YIELD
6 Beverage Dynamics • Summer 2024 www . beveragedynamics . com