As part of a continuous effort to raise the quality of its wines, Emmanuel Delicata Winemaker has just completed a pioneering exercise in customised pruning for over 100,000 grape vines.
In today’s highly competitive world, sustainable viticulture is crucial...
The pruning was carried out by a team responsible for pruning some of the most prestigious appellations and chateaux in France.
They are experts in pruning vines for quality-focused vineyards – specifically those growing under a Mediterranean climate.
Each pruner averages between 800 to 1,000 vines per day and, so far, over 100,000 vines used for Delicata wines, spread throughout Malta and Gozo, have been pruned.
The very latest techniques are applied and every vine’s particular grape variety and age, plus the soil composition, its micro climate, IGT or DOK classification, is taken into consideration. The introduction of these customised pruning techniques is another step taken by Delicata to help its growers achieve vineyard sustainability.
While carrying out these procedures the French team took time out to teach local growers how to carry out new pruning methods.
“This transfer of knowledge is important,” a member of the Delicata viticultural team said.“Our growers are all learning so much and understand fully the reasoning behind the modern pruning methods applied and the advantages it will bring to them and their vines.
“These methods will not only give them better quality fruit but it will save them money as well.
“In today’s highly competitive world, sustainable viticulture is crucial and anything we can do to help our growers achieve that, especially while improving quality, is in everyone’s interest.”
The customised pruning methods used on the vines grown to produce grapes that will go into Delicata’s QWPSR (Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region), will also benefit from the reduced requirement for sprays and fertigation as a direct result of improved directional canopy growth.
Even the varietal characteristics and the grapes’ flavour compounds will improve. This besides maximising the amount of fruit produced so that growers reach their full DOK and IGT permitted yields, the benefits of which these growers will see when they harvest this year’s grapes in August and September.
Many of Delicata’s growers have already signed up for similar pruning sessions organised by the winemaker for next winter.
Sustainable viticulture, according to Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine, is a form of viticultural practice which aims to avoid any form of environmental degradation while maintaining the economic viability of the vineyard.
This form of viticulture has the same goals as organic and biodynamic viticulture with one difference: It incorporates the scientific method into the formula.
Basically it utilises the least amount of intervention possible while managing in a way that sustains the long-term health of the vineyards as well as the economic viability of the operation.
Sustainable viticulture views the vineyard as a whole system which creates a high level quality fruit production reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals and fertilisers to protect the growers, the consumers and the environment.
Many conscientious vintners ascribe to this method and produce some very fine wines while pursing a responsible higher goal.
Universities and private organisations responsibly teach and encourage these practices.
Sustainable winegrowing practices include achieving vineyard uniformity and vine balance as well as the management of soil, water, pests and human resources.
In effect, it means paying careful attention to the many details of farming on a daily basis, ensuring each practice optimises vineyard inputs, such as water, energy, and nutrients, as well as vineyard output which is the yield of quality wine grapes.
Being able to measure and quantify as many of these as possible is very important, too.
The expression “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” is very true for sustainable winegrowing.