Healthy Soils for Healthy Vines: Soil Management for Productive Vineyards

Healthy Soils for Healthy Vines provides a clear understanding of vineyard soils and how to manage and improve soil health for best vineyard performance. It covers the inherent and dynamic properties of soil health, how to choose which soil properties to monitor, how to monitor soil and vine performance, and how vineyard management practices affect soil health, fruit composition and wine sensory characters. It also covers the basic tenets of sustainable winegrowing and their significance for business resilience in the face of a changing climate. This book will be of practical value to anyone growing grapevines, managing a vineyard or making wine, from the small individual grower to the large wine company employee. It will be of special interest to winegrowers employing organic, natural or biodynamic methods of production, where the primary focus is on the biological health of the soil. Features Explains the key properties underpinning soil health and their importance for healthy grapevines Describes the full range of vineyard soil management practices and their effect on soil health Explores the relationships between soil properties and vine growth, fruit composition and wine sensory characters Includes procedures for measuring important soil properties and identifying optimum values, and provides a recommended Minimum Dataset of physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil health Reviews projections for climate change and discusses possible impacts on sustainable winegrowing and the resilience of wine businesses