One hundred and fifty Delicata grape growers flocked to Delicata’s wine cellars last week to attend seminars on sustainable viticulture.
The winemaker’s viticultural experts delved into many subjects and focused on efficiency in the vineyard, which ultimately results in reduced costs. Topics covered included irrigation techniques, canopy management, pest control and the importance of maintaining a good quality crop.
These lectures come hard on the heels of Delicata’s second year of customised pruning carried out recently by a team of French pruning experts, where the very latest in pruning techniques were applied to many vineyards growing quality grapes for Delicata.
The introduction of these customised pruning techniques is another step taken by the winemaker to help its growers achieve vineyard sustainability.
These customised pruning techniques take into consideration each and every vine’s particular grape variety and its age, together with that vineyard’s soil composition, its micro-climate and its IGT or DOK classification and optimises them.
Sustainable viticulture views the vineyard as a whole system that 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 pursuing a responsible higher goal. Universities and private organisations responsibly teach and encourage these practices in many of the world’s winemaking countries.
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 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 vine-growing.
This latest initiative will be repeated in Gozo for Delicata’s Gozitan growers and more workshops will be held throughout the year.
These viticultural seminars form part of the winemaker’s drive to continually improve the quality of fruit its farmers grow for the company; and thereby improve the quality of the resulting wines.