History of Vineyards

According to the Old Testament (Genesis 9:20), Noah planted a vineyard on Mt. Ararat. When Moses led the Hebrews to Canaan, they are said to have regretted leaving the wines of Egypt (Numbers 20:5). In their new home, however, they found numerous vineyards.
During the instability of the Middle Ages the monasteries maintained viticulture. They had the resources, security, stability and interest in improving the quality of their vines over time. The monks also had the education and time necessary to enhance their viticulture skills. Throughout the Middle Ages, the best vineyards were owned and tended by the monasteries, and vinum theologium was considered superior to all others. The vineyards of Europe were planted with various varieties of the Vitis vinifera grape. In the late 19th century the entire species was nearly destroyed by the plant louse called phylloxera that was accidentally introduced to Europe from North America. Native American grapevines include varieties such as Vitis labrusca, which is resistant to the bug, but produce wines with a foxy, animal type taste. Vitis vinifera varieties were saved by being grafted onto rootstocks of native American varieties. However, there is still no remedy for phylloxera, which remains a continuing threat to vineyards around much of the world that are not planted with grafted rootstock.
For well over half a century Cornell University, the University of California at Davis, and California State University at Fresno, among others, have been conducting scientific experiments to improve viticulture and educating practitioners. The research includes developing superior grape varieties, investigating better ways to control or destroy harmful pests, and develop improved techniques for producing better vineyards. New viticultural techniques have made possible the development of wine industries in various New World countries such as Canada. Today there is increasing interest in developing organic, ecologically sensitive and sustainable vineyards. Biodynamics has become increasingly popular in viticulture. The use of drip irrigation in recent years has expanded vineyards into areas otherwise unplantable. A consequence of irrigation is consistency of yields and a virtual irrelevance of vintage year. Other recent practices include spraying water on vines to protect them from sub-freezing temperatures (aspersion), new grafting techniques, soil slotting, new trellising methods, new canopy management techniques such as minimal pruning, and mechanical harvesting. The implementation of mechanical harvesting is often stimulated by changes in labor laws, labor shortages, and bureaucratic complications making it difficult and expensive to hire labor for short periods of time, the need to reduce production costs, the need to harvest quickly, and the ability to harvest at night. However, retarding the utilization of machine harvesting are such things as very small ownership parcels, incompatible widths between rows of grape vines, steep terrain, and traditional views rejecting such harvesting.
New World vineyard plantings have been increasing almost as fast as European vineyards are being uprooted. Between 1990 and 2003, U.S. vineyards increased from 292,000 acres to 954,000, Australian vineyards went from 146,000 to 356,000 acres, Chilean vineyards grew from 161,500 to 415,000 acres.
There are also changes in the kinds of grapes grown. For example, in Chile, thousands of acres of low-quality grapes have been replaced with such grapes as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is often in response to changing consumer demand but sometimes results from vine pull schemes designed to promote vineyard change.
Alternatively, the development of T budding now permits the grafting of a different grape variety onto existing rootstock in the vineyard. This makes it possible to change varieties within a period of about two years.
Which grapes are grown in vineyards, as well as how they are grown, often reflects legislation, which in turn may serve to reinforce tradition. For example, laws may restrict which varieties can be planted, whether vineyards can be irrigated, when grapes can be harvested, and so on.
Changes in laws can also influence which grapes are planted. For example, during Prohibition in the U.S. (1920-1933), vineyards in California expanded seven-fold to meet the increasing demand. However, they were largely planted in varieties with tough skins that could be transported across the country to home wine-makers. The resulting wine was of low quality.
Leading wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. has had a significant influence on viticulture around the world. His taste preferences have led many growers in Bordeaux, for example, to practice "green harvesting," in which whole grape clusters are removed and discarded during the growing season in order to reduce yields. Also, because of Parker's influence, many growers now strip sections of leaves away from vines to permit more direct sunlight to reach the grapes.
There is a continuing relationship between the history of alcohol and the history of vineyards that has existed from the earliest known times.

Brought to you by Wine Encyclopedia, the best place to learn about and rate wine. Original text from Wikipedia.