Thesis
Comparison of grape and wine composition, yield, and cell wall binding potential of grapes from mechanically pruned and hand pruned Syrah vines
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2016
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/100603
Abstract
The Washington State wine industry is growing at a rate which may require an influx of labor to fully sustain. Mechanization of harvest and other vineyard operations has proven to be a valuable tool in fostering this growth, but pruning is still primarily performed by hand crews. The reason for this rests in preconceived notions of wine quality suffering from such mechanization. A solid basis for this assumption holds merit in that machine pruning can produce higher yields, a consequence of increased bud counts, which changes ripening parameters and overall wine composition. This study included three treatments - hand pruned, machine pruned, and machine pruned with crop thinning - and demonstrated that concerns towards converting a vineyard to mechanical pruning are easily allayed, as compositional differences may be mitigated by crop thinning with standard equipment and practices. Canopy measurements indicated that differences in fruit and wine composition were likely due to vine balance, a relationship between vegetative vigor and fruiting, rather than temperature and light. The differences observed in composition after machine pruning primarily included yield and ripening parameters, where more numerous clusters required additional ripening. While in 2015 yields of machine pruned vines were unexpectedly lower than hand-pruned, in 2016 the effect was precisely as hypothesized. Thinning of machine pruned crops prior to ripening significantly decreased effects on fruit and wine composition, and improved wine color. Overall, machine pruning of Syrah vines demonstrated the potential to support continued growth of the Washington wine industry by increasing production without compromising the product.
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Details
- Title
- Comparison of grape and wine composition, yield, and cell wall binding potential of grapes from mechanically pruned and hand pruned Syrah vines
- Creators
- Christopher Allen Jenkins
- Contributors
- James F. Harbertson (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Food Science, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525394701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis