The state and characteristics of modern viticulture in France

France. A country of classical viticulture and winemaking. It ranks fourth in the world by the area of vineyards (1079 thousand hectares), second by grape production (8467.7 thousand tons), and first by wine production (63,709 thousand hl).

Viticulture is a leading sector of France's agriculture. The majority of vineyards are located in favorable climatic zones with an sum of active temperatures of 3000–3800°C and an average annual rainfall of 600–1200 mm. Over 60% of all plantations are situated on slopes of 2—20°. Dry, permeable gravelly, brown forest, sandy loam, and carbonate soil are used for vineyards.

Grapes are grown in four zones: eastern (provinces of Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, etc.), western (valleys of the Loire and Charente rivers), southwestern (Bordeaux province, Dordogne and Garonne river valleys), and southern (Rhône river valley, provinces of Provence, Languedoc, Roussillon, Corsica). These zones differ in climatic conditions, cultivar assortment, features of cultivation technology, grape yield, and the quality of wines produced.

The primary harvest of grapes is used for wine production.

Over the last 20 years, the cultivar assortment in French viticulture has been renewed, and the technology of grape cultivation has been improved. Cultivars whose harvest is intended for red wine production are located mainly in the southwestern and southern zones of France, and those for white wine production — in the eastern and western zones. Half of all the country's vineyards are occupied by cultivars with colored berries: Carignan, Grenache, Aramon, Cinsaut, Merlot, and Gamay. Areas under the Ugni Blanc cultivar, the harvest of which is used for cognac production, have nearly doubled. The main raw material for champagne production is the harvest of the Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay cultivars, the areas under which increase from year to year. Areas under high-quality cultivars such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah have increased significantly.

The share of table grapes intended for fresh consumption accounts for less than 3% of the vineyard area. Compared to 1986, areas under table cultivars have decreased by 35%. In the area structure, 90% is accounted for by 6 main table cultivars: Chasselas blanc, Muscat of Hamburg, Alphonse Lavallée, Gros Vert, Servan, and Cardinal.

In most regions of France, vineyards are established with a spacing of 1–1.5 X 0.7–1.2 m. Forms include the Gobelet (head-trained) with pruning to 6 two-bud spurs or the Guyot (single or double cane) on a low trunk. Large areas of vineyards, especially in the south of the country, have no supports. In the Charente departments, where grapes are cultivated for cognac production, they are grown on high trunks with wide row spacing, and mechanical harvesting is applied. Grape harvesters are used to harvest the yield on more than 25% of vineyards, and in the Charente departments — on 40%.

Italy. A major producer of grapes and wine. It ranks third by the area of vineyards (1130 thousand hectares), second only to Spain and the USSR; first by grape production (11080 thousand tons); second by wine production (70,235 thousand hl); and first by production of table grapes (1304 thousand tons). The average yield is 7 t/ha.

A characteristic feature of Italian viticulture is the presence of two types of plantations: specialized and mixed. The former represents a modern type of pure grape plantings, the share of which shows a strong upward trend; the latter are plantings of grape vines mixed with fruit trees, citrus crops, and other plants.

Since ancient times, the culture of growing grapes on trees (alberata) has been widespread and preserved in commercial plantations. It is most widely distributed in the northern and central zones of the country, in the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy, Marche, Umbria, Lazio, and in parts of Tuscany. With the advent of new types of supports, the alberata underwent major changes and in a number of cases became the predecessor of arbor systems (Trentino, Emilian, pergolas, etc.).

In central and northern regions, on fertile soil with good water availability, vigorous high-trunk forms and, consequently, high-trained vine systems prevail. These include the horizontal trellis (tendone). The radiant (fan) training system is similar to the pergola and tendone; in this system, grape plants are planted in clusters and formed according to the Sylvoz cordon type, directing the cordon arms as rays in different directions. In the warmer and relatively arid regions of the south of the country, where plant growth is weaker, small bush-like forms with higher planting density and short pruning have become most widespread. In Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, and Puglia, such forms usually have no supports and have no more than three to four arms, each with one or two spurs pruned to 2 buds. Such forms are intended primarily for wine (technical) grape cultivars.

The grape crop is non-covering, grafted, and in a number of regions, it is irrigated.

The technical cultivar list contains mostly indigenous cultivars and few cultivars common in other countries. Indigenous cultivars include Barbera, Trebbiano, Toscano, Malvasia, Sangiovese, Primitivo, Montepulciano, and Catarratto. Along with these, widely known cultivars are grown: Aleatico, Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Muscat Blanc, the Pinot group, Italian Riesling, Sauvignon, Tokay, and Traminer Rose.

Table grape production in Italy and the specifics of the arid regions of Spain

To understand the context of viticulture development, it is important to assess the technological level of key competitors in the European market — Italy and Spain. In Italy, to successfully compete in the international table grape market, producers strive to shift export dates to an earlier period. They solve this task by moving plantations to southern regions (Apulia, Abruzzo, Sicily), using early-ripening cultivars, and applying temporary plastic covers. Among table cultivars in Italy, the most common are Regina (more than 50% of the gross harvest), Italia, Cardinal, Alphonse Lavallée, Regina dei Vigneti, and Chasselas Blanc. The local cultivar list is also actively supplemented with new cultivars of domestic breeding: Volta, Delizia di Vaprio, Clotilda Prospieri, Muscat Dadra, Perlona, Primus, and Premier.

A significant portion of the table grapes harvested in Italy is sent for export. In addition to the Panse Précoce, Cardinal, Italia, Ohanes, and Alphonse Lavallée cultivars, the basis of export shipments consists of three key cultivars.

Spain ranks first in the world in vineyard area, but lags behind Italy, France, and the USSR in gross harvest due to low average yield. About 4% of all arable land is set aside for grape plantations here; in terms of area, they are second only to cereal crops and olives. Rainfall supply in the wine-growing regions of Spain ranges from 300 to 1000 mm per year, therefore the crop is mainly grown without irrigation. Among technical cultivars, the largest areas are occupied by Airén, Garnacha, Monastrell, Bobal, Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Tempranillo, Cayetana, Pedro Ximénez, Merseguera, Madrid, Palomino, Pardina, Muscat of Alexandria (Roman), Zalema, Mencía, Malvasia, and Prieto.

• Vineyard area — 1581 thousand ha
• Gross grape harvest — 5585 thousand tons
• Average vine yield — 4 t/ha
• Table grape harvest — 145 thousand tons
• Share of irrigated areas — 1.5%
• Fresh grape consumption — up to 7.5 kg per capita per year

Out of 50 Spanish provinces, table grapes are grown in 36, but high-quality produce is obtained only in 6 Mediterranean regions: Valencia, Malaga, Alicante, Almeria, Murcia, and Castile. The main table cultivar list is represented by Muscat of Alexandria, Rosetti, Chelva, Beba, Cardinal, Planta Nova, Aledo, Albillo, and Don Mariano (Napoleon). Raisin and seedless plantations are concentrated in the provinces of Malaga and Alicante, where the main cultivar is Muscat of Malaga. It is here that the world-famous dessert wine, Malaga, is prepared from sun-dried bunches.

Viticulture in Greece: specifics of mountain slopes and differences in technology

Greece possesses 169 thousand hectares of vineyards, producing 1625 thousand tons of grapes and 5175 thousand hectoliters of wine per year. The country ranks second in the world and first in Europe in the production of dried grapes (130–140 thousand tons), and also grows large volumes of table cultivars. About 60% of local vineyards are located on mountain slopes and foothills, where the vine is grown as a non-covering crop. The local cultivar list was formed over centuries of folk selection and today is supplemented by introduced foreign and new Greek cultivars.

More than 65% of private farms in Greece have small plots ranging from 0.1 to 1.4 ha, where the vine is often combined with plantings of olives, pomegranates, and figs. The share of medium-sized farms (1.5–2.9 ha) is 23.2%, and large ones (from 5 ha) account for only 11.7%. Depending on the scale of production, grape growers use traditional manual technology or switch to intensive trellis systems using modern agricultural practices.

The main table cultivars are Razaki, Muscat of Alexandria, Hamburg Muscat, Fokiano, Sideritis, Cardinal, Italia, Kolokitas, Aetonychie; wine cultivars — Mavrodaphne, Liatiko, Agiorgitiko, Assyrtiko, Aidani, Mandilaria, Robola, Krassato, Stavroto, Moschofilero, Kotsifali, Vilana, Roditis, Debina, Limnio Naoussis, Savatiano, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Merlot, Carignan. The main cultivars for drying are Sultana (Oval Kishmish) and Black Corinth. Areas planted with Black Corinth are decreasing, while areas under the Sultana cultivar are expanding, which is explained by the higher yield of the latter. Grapes are dried on special grounds near the vineyards, under canvas or plastic covers, which protect the product from possible precipitation and keep it dust-free. The leading region for grape drying is Corinth (Peloponnese). Industrial processing and packaging of dried products are carried out at specialized plants.

Bulgaria. Among the socialist countries, Bulgaria occupies one of the leading places in the development of viticulture. Vineyards cover 167 thousand hectares. The gross harvest of grapes is 1012.2 thousand tons. It is a major exporter of table grapes. The share of grapes exported from Bulgaria among the CMEA member countries exceeds 60%.

The country is implementing advanced grape cultivation technology designed for the mechanization of labor-intensive processes. The basis for this technology is the conversion of plantings to trunk cultivation and an increase in row spacing. About 65% of the areas occupied by vineyards have started using wider (2.5–3.4 m) row spacings. In areas where grapes are cultivated on a trunk with wider row spacings, the vines are trained using the Moser and Umbrella systems. Thanks to well-developed, scientifically based regionalization and zonal placement of grapes, as well as the application of new advanced cultivation technology, Bulgaria has completely switched to non-covering cultivation.

The most common wine cultivars include: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rkatsiteli, Muscat Ottonel, Welschriesling, and local wine cultivars: Dimiat, Red Misket, Pamid, Gamza, Broad-leaved Melnik, Mavrud.

The leading table grape cultivar is Bolgar, which occupies 90% of the area planted with table cultivars. Other table cultivars are also cultivated. Special attention is paid to early-ripening cultivars (Cardinal, Queen of the Vineyards, Pleven, and Pleven Muscat). Small areas are occupied by the Chaush and Chasselas musqué cultivars. From the group of mid-ripening table cultivars, the most common, besides Bolgar, are Italia, Hamburg Muscat, and Plovdiv Muscat. The group of seedless cultivars occupies small areas and is represented by: Sultana (Oval Kishmish), Large-berried White Kishmish, the seedless hybrid V1–4, and the new seedless cultivar Trakijski Pearl.

Hungary. The total area of vineyards is 155 thousand hectares, gross grape production is 800.5 thousand tons, wine — 5073 thousand hl, table grapes — 65 thousand tons. Almost half of the vineyard area is located between the Danube and Tisza rivers.

Grafted vineyards occupy about 70% of the vineyard area, while the remaining vineyards are own-rooted, located on sandy soils (Kecskemét region, etc.). The main areas of vineyards are concentrated in state and cooperative farms. In large farms, grapes are cultivated with wide row spacings (3–3.5 m) and on a high trunk. Wine cultivars occupy more than 92% of the area of all vineyards. The leading wine cultivars are Kadarka, Welschriesling, Kövidinka, Izsáki, Ezerjó, Furmint, Rózsás Slanka, Mézes, Leányka, Hárslevelű, Muscat Ottonel, Traminer Rose, Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner, Cabernet, Merlot, and Chardonnay.

The most common table cultivars include: Italia, Chasselas Blanc, Queen of the Vineyards, Cardinal, Karaburnu, Favorit, Csabagyöngye, Gloria Hungaria, Matyas Janos, Cegledi Szepesze, Rekord, Mocai Mariska. Breeding work is well established in Hungary, and many valuable new cultivars have been developed, which have gained popularity and recognition in many countries around the world.

Romania. The area of vineyards is 301 thousand hectares, grape production is 2192 thousand tons, wine production is 8700 thousand hl, table grapes 175.6 thousand tons. Viticulture and winemaking in the country are ancient industries.

Grape cultivation is grafted, non-covering, and, except for 10% of the plantings, non-irrigated. About 70% of the vineyards are on a vertical trellis with a trunk-trained vine form. The trunk height is medium. Wine cultivars occupy about 80%, and table cultivars — 20% of the vineyard area. Among the wine cultivars, the most common are: Aligoté, Alicante Bouschet, Burgund Mare, Babească Neagră, Grosă de Cotnari,

Iordan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Kadarka, Merlot, Muscatel, Muscat Ottonel, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, Welschriesling, Sauvignon, Traminer Rose, White Muscat, Fetească Albă, and Chardonnay. The main table cultivars are Afuz Ali, Italia, Cardinal, Chasselas Blanc, Plăvaie.

Yugoslavia. The area of vineyards is 238 thousand hectares, gross grape production is 1416 thousand tons, wine — 6920 thousand hl, table grapes — 180.8 thousand tons.

The technology of grape cultivation is influenced by the social structure of the farms. In the private sector, high-density planting is applied, with spacings of 1x0.75 m, 1x1 m, and 1x1.5 m, with a density ranging from 6,000 to 12,000 vines per hectare, using a head-trained system or no supports at all. The cultivation of such vineyards is designed for manual labor. In state farms and agricultural cooperatives, vineyards are generally established in large blocks with wide inter-row spacing (2.5–4 m) and distances between vines in the row of 0.75–2 m. Trunk-based training systems are widely used. The vine training system is a 3-, 4-, or 5-wire vertical trellis. In areas with a warmer climate, for table cultivars, an inclined pergola or a horizontal trellis of the tendone type (Macedonia; regions located at the mouth of the Neretva River) is used, which allows for yields of up to 20–30 t/ha of berries.

More than 85% of all vineyards consist of grafted crops. Own-rooted cultivation is common on sandy soils (about 8%) and when using hybrid direct producers.

In the group of technical cultivars, about 60% of the area occupied by vineyards is accounted for by cultivars with colored berries, and about 40% by those with white berries. Leading white-berried technical cultivars include Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Welschriesling, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Sémillon, Sauvignon, and Traminer Rose; colored cultivars include Pinot Noir, Frankovka, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Prokupac. Indigenous technical cultivars are also cultivated, such as Plovdina, Smederevka, Žilavka, Refošk, Stavušina, and Kratošija. Among table cultivars, the most common are Afus Ali, Queen of the Vineyards, Cardinal, Muscat Hamburg, Chasselas Blanc, Italia, and Galan. The table assortment has been supplemented with new cultivars of Yugoslavian breeding: Belgrade Early, Opuzen Early, Radmilovac Muscat, Belgrade Seedless, and Antigone.

In Yugoslavia, the production of grafted nursery plants is well-established. Every year, 120–150 million grafted cuttings are produced here, with an average output of first-class nursery plants of 35–40%. This fully meets the country's needs. A significant portion of the grafted nursery plants is exported to foreign countries, including the USSR. As rootstocks, virus-free clones are used: Berlandieri X Riparia Kober 5BB, Berlandieri X Riparia SO4, Berlandieri X Riparia Richter 99, and Chasselas X Berlandieri 41B. The mother plantations for these rootstocks are located in the warm regions of the Mediterranean coast.

Czechoslovakia. Vineyard plantations cover 47,000 hectares, with an average annual grape production of 215,500 tons and a wine production of 1,467,000 hl.

The largest areas of vineyards in the country are occupied by Welschriesling (22.5%), Müller-Thurgau (17%), Grüner Veltliner (14.3%), Pinot Blanc (8.4%), as well as Saint Laurent and Traminer Rose.

Grape cultivation is grafted. The main part of the old plantations has inter-row widths of 2 and 2.5 m. New plantings are generally carried out with wide inter-row spacing to allow for the formation of vines with a high trunk. Such plantations account for about 70%. New forms that are receiving significant attention for study and testing include: the single curtain, the California GDC form, and the vertical cordon ("Vertiko"). The "Vertiko" and single curtain forms are beginning to be introduced into production.

United States of America. On the American continent, it ranks first in terms of the area of vineyard plantations (338,000 ha) and grape production (5,118.9 thousand tons) and second in wine production (18,561,000 hl), behind Argentina. The USA holds the leading position in the world in the production of dried grape products — raisins and sultanas.

The main part of the vineyards (85.5%) is concentrated in the state of California, which possesses exceptionally favorable conditions for the cultivation of this crop, especially raisin cultivars. Viticulture is of industrial importance in the following states:

• New York;
• Washington;
• Michigan;
• Pennsylvania.

About 99% of the country's grape production is produced in California and these four states. Grapes are also grown in the states of Arizona, Ohio, Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Missouri, but in significantly smaller quantities.

The average yield of grapes in the country is high — 16 t/ha. This is due, on the one hand, to favorable environmental conditions and, on the other, to high concentration, specialization, and industrialization of the sector.

A characteristic feature of US viticulture is the industrial use of cultivars of American grape species in the eastern states (New York, Michigan, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Ohio):

• Vitis labrusca (Concord, Niagara, Worden, Euvita);
• V. rotundifolia (Scuppernong, Stover, Norris, Blue Lake, and Lake Emerald).

This is due to the fact that European grape cultivars belonging to the species V. vinifera cannot withstand the infectious load of fungal diseases here and cannot grow and fruit normally.

The state of California is located on the Pacific coast of the USA and is characterized by a mild subtropical climate. In terms of the sum of active temperatures, the duration of the growing season, hot summers, and dry autumns, the main viticultural regions of the state have much in common with Uzbekistan, but benefit from a frost-free winter, which allows for the non-covered cultivation of grapes.

About 30 cultivars have gained industrial distribution in California. From the seedless and raisin cultivar group, the following are grown:

• Thompson Seedless, which provides over 95% of all dried grape products in the USA and occupies more than 1/3 of the state's vineyard area;
• Muscat of Alexandria, from which high-quality raisins are produced, accounting for 4% of the total volume of dried products in the USA;
• Black Corinth, which occupies insignificant areas.

Seedless cultivars — Sultana white round and Sultana black — have limited areas. Table grape production is based primarily on 7–9 cultivars (about 30 thousand hectares). The largest share belongs to Emperor and Tokay (Flame Tokay). These are followed by Ribier, Malaga, Cardinal, and the early-ripening seedless Perlette and Calmeria cultivars. The group of wine cultivars is represented mainly by ten, predominantly black-berried, cultivars.

US industrial viticulture relies on thorough pre-planting soil preparation and maximum mechanization of processes. Before establishing vineyards, trenching is carried out to a depth of 1–1.2 m, and irrigation systems and frost protection equipment using sprinkler irrigation are installed. In large enterprises, bushes are trained on a high trunk with a row spacing of 3–4 m. Such a layout allows for the full mechanization of labor-intensive operations, including harvesting with grape harvesters. To increase productivity in California vineyards, drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation are combined.

In the production of raisins in the USA, a technology of pre-treating bunches directly on the vines is used, which speeds up drying and allows for mechanized harvesting:

1. Cold blanching of bunches with special solutions is carried out right on the bush.
2. Grapes are dried using the air-sun method in the row spacings.

• Vineyard area in Turkey — 794 thousand hectares
• Gross grape harvest — 3741 thousand tons
• Sultana production — 120 thousand tons
• Average yield in Turkey — 5 t/ha

Viticulture in Turkey is oriented towards the cultivation of table and seedless cultivars. About 95% of all areas are concentrated in the southeastern and central parts of Anatolia, on the coast of the Sea of Marmara in the Thrace region, as well as in northeastern Anatolia.

For winemaking, the following cultivars are used in Turkey:

• White-berried: Clairette, Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon, Beylerce, Vasilaki, Emir, Hasandede, Kalecik, Rumi.
• Red-berried: Pinot Noir, Adakarasi, Papazkarasi, Kuntra, Karalahna, Carignan, Calkarasi, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante Bouschet, Bogazkere, Dimrit.

The basis of the dried product group consists of the Sultana white oval and Sultana white round cultivars.

Australia's Experience: Intensive Technologies and High Yield

Australian viticulture originated in 1788 with the import of the first vines from Europe. Industrial production began after the creation of an ampelographic collection near Sydney in 1833, where the most productive and high-quality cultivars were selected. Today, vineyards occupy 40% of the entire area of fruit and berry plantations in the country.

• Vineyard area in Australia — 65 thousand hectares
• Gross grape production — 843.3 thousand tons
• Wine production — 4026 thousand hl
• Average yield in Australia — 13.8 t/ha

The volumes of table grape production in the country amount to 28.3 thousand tons, and dried products — 90.2 thousand tons. Vineyards are distributed unevenly across the territory.

Vineyards are also cultivated in the states of New South Wales, Western Australia, and Queensland. The cultivation of wine cultivars for winemaking is concentrated mainly in the states of South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria.

Key wine cultivars of Australian vineyards:

• Shiraz, Muscat Gordo Blanco, Sultana, Grenache, Doradillo, Palomino, Semillon, Rhine Riesling, Trebbiano, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro, Crouchen.

Dried products (Sultana and raisins) are produced mainly in the northwestern zone of Victoria and in the southwest of New South Wales. The main raw material for this sector is the seedless cultivar Sultana (Sultana white oval).