previous page | Ecology for a New Millennium index | next page
other newsletters
It's a very humbling experience to grow grapes on a great site. For some time now, my own belief has been that in your ability to recognize the land and what it offers, there comes a clarification of purpose. To a great extent, that purpose or goal is the sustainability of the site, the people who work with it and the continuing search for a better understanding of what makes that site work the way it does.
In the awesome task of site selection, many critical considerations need to be taken into account. Each one area seems to blend together with one or more other areas for investigation and review. It all becomes a giant jigsaw puzzle, filled with intrigue, anxiety and compromise.
Just like in life, in this process there is no clear right or wrong answer, specifically as it relates to where to start your investigation for the optimum vineyard site. As a result of that I have chosen to try and walk through in a somewhat logical way, a process to approach site planning.
A good place to start is to have a clear understanding of your farming philosophy (types of farming practices). Another consideration should be the financial components of economic sustainability (long-term success):
- what are the expected results? (models)
- what are the financial constraints? (time and money)
- what are the known and unknowns? (??, ??, costs)
Before any substantive viticultural decisions can really be made, we need to understand the soils, local flora, and the availability and quality of the water resources. Backhoe pits with soil log profiles are essential. Soils will reveal the information that can guide in minimizing erosion, designing surface and subsurface drainage and soil amendments or modifications. Soils will also indicate the specific variety of grapes to farm, type of equipment to use, vineyard density, and even row direction. Observance of the native flora and perhaps expert counsel on the general area's flora with a study of the local plant species would assist in the ability to integrate the vineyard with the existing environment. The study of local plant species would help identify potential cover crop candidates, or non-crop plant species for soil stabilization and habitat restoration and/or maintenance. There are other factors of course that will influence some of these considerations as well. Water availability will be a strong determinant in many of these points and many alone change the size and scope of the overall plan. Therefore, it has become an issue to understand very early on in site planning.
Elevation and topography are issues that will influence exposure to sun, frost, wind, disease, air pressure, and water drainage; and therefore row direction, vineyard geometry (vine density) and the type of equipment used to farm. So, as you can see, so many of these areas are closely inter-twined that you need to review and look at many issues simultaneously and balance them to fit together and see how to attain your goals and truly be sustainable on your farm.
One area that needs more attention is an evaluation of the entire parcel of land and how it all will work together, the vineyard and the non-vineyard areas, the recognition of native species and indicator species and the goal of some sort of environmental balance or equilibrium. Things like understanding the local watershed, riparian setbacks, looking at the surrounding land and getting a sense of the assets and potential environmental liabilities. Open space, reforestation, habitat restoration, diversity. Another important consideration would be an available, trained work force. As we push towards the hills and more isolated areas, it can become increasingly harder to attract qualified, long-term workers. So, in your planning, incorporate ways in which to make sure your vineyard workers understand your plan is sustainable with their long term interest of employment.
Almost needless to say, that in the area of planning and development this is where quality time should be devoted to ask questions and think through as completely as you can the various issues. Time spent designing a good plan will save time
previous page | Ecology for a New Millennium index | next page
other newsletters