Healthy Soils for Healthy Vines: Soil Management for Productive Vineyards

HEALTHY SOILS FOR HEALTHY VINES

We dedicate this book to our wives – Esme Annette and Chittraphan – and to young Noah Krstic, to whom we are most grateful for their admirable tolerance and support during its writing.

HEALTHY SOILS FOR HEALTHY VINES

Soil Management for Productive Vineyards

Robert E White and Mark P Krstic

© Robert White and Mark Krstic 2019

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Foreword

This book, Healthy Soils for Healthy Vines by Robert White and Mark Krstic, emphasises the point that there are few more current topics in viticulture than the importance of soils. When I first made the move from science to wine, which wasn’t all that long ago, viticulture seemed to be solely focused on the grapevine as the all-important crop plant. Little regard was given to the soil: it was seen merely as a growth medium for the vine. Wine scientists merely considered the soil’s physical properties, such as water-holding capacity, drainage and nutrient status. No one was talking about soil life. And when it came to discussing the concept of terroir, differences in wines from different sites – even those very close to each other – were ascribed to climatic effects operating on a range of scales, from macro to micro. Climate was king: the buzz term at the time was homoclimes. If you want to find where to plant Pinot Noir in the New World, scour the climate data to find a site most similar in climate to the Côte d’Or of Burgundy. It’s a good start, but ignores the fact that even within Burgundy, there is incredible parcellation, with some vineyard sites sharing pretty much identical climates being valued entirely differently, because of the composition of their soils.

Now, some 20 years later, we have a very different understanding of viticulture. We see vineyards as agroecosystems, with many biotic players. It’s not just about the vines; rather we think of the interaction of the vine with the myriad of organisms it lives alongside. The soil is no longer seen simply as an inert medium with only physical properties; we now recognise that it is alive, and that the soil life has a definite (if as yet poorly scientifically defined) effect on the way that grapevines grow. If you will, the soil micro-life is like the ocean under our feet as we walk the vineyard: we can’t see what’s there very easily, but we know there’s a lot going on, and that it is important, and that bad management can damage it.

In the Old World, winegrowers in the classic wine regions have long recognised the importance of soils, and these regions have been organised largely according to the concept of terroir. We recognise that not all vineyards are created equal, and even those in close proximity with effectively identical climates can differ greatly in their potential, simply because of what they are planted on. When you visit Old World vignerons, they will often talk extensively about the differences among various plots, and how this is reflected in the flavour of the wine. Yet they have largely been unable to put this empirical knowledge into scientific terms, and in some cases have claimed mechanisms of flavour transmission directly from soils to grapes and then to wines that are not scientifically plausible. This has caused some wine scientists in the New World to reject their approach and doubt the importance of soil on wine flavour. This hasn’t been helped by the fact that the majority of viticultural experiments take place on vineyards making relatively inexpensive, more commercial wines where ‘terroir’ is of lesser importance and its effects harder to discern in the resulting wines.

It’s a great shame. Many of the wine scientists from California and Australia who have taken this anti-terroir stance simply haven’t spent enough time visiting the top producers who value the properties of their vineyard soils, and done the hard yards of extensive tasting and discussion. The importance of terroir is reflected in the response of the market. The skill of the winegrower is imperative, but it is not enough to create great wines without great vineyards to produce the grapes. The link between place and wine flavour is one of the most fascinating questions in the world of wine, and we need good scientists to address this.

While mainstream scientists have been slow to address these questions, others have stepped in. Claude and Lydia Bourguignon, soil specialists from France who run the laboratory LAMS (Laboratoire Analyses Microbiologiques Sols), once famously claimed that the Sahara has more life in it than the soils of Burgundy. This was back in the 1980s, at the height of a ‘conventional’ viticultural paradigm that relied on herbicides to eliminate weeds and a chemical fertilisation regime. The result of this approach was vastly diminished soil micro-life, and with it damage to the structure of the soil. In response to the prophetic call of the Bourguignons and others, in many regions there has been a return to working the soil (manual weed control), and increased use of cover cropping, with a corresponding reduction in herbicide use.

What the wine world has lacked is good scientifically reliable sources of information on soil health, driven by a solid understanding of the biology involved. This is where this book meets a very real need. It’s a rigorous, balanced treatment of the science behind soil health, and should prove a valuable, practical guide to anyone running a vineyard. The coverage is broad, and is internationally relevant, and best of all it is thoroughly practical. The wine world has been waiting quite a while for a scientifically literate, well researched, well written and even-handed book like this. And for anyone actually running a vineyard, or thinking of planting one, this book is essential reading.

Dr Jamie Goode

London-based wine writer and book author

29 April 2019

Contents

Foreword

Preface

About the authors

Chapter 1 Introduction to the concept of soil health

What is meant by soil health?

Industry views of soil health

Tackling wine industry concerns

The structure and format of this book

Summary

References

Further reading

Chapter 2 Inherent factors of soil health

Some basic geology

Soil formation and wine regions around the world

The way forward

Summary

References

Further reading

Chapter 3 Dynamic factors of soil health

Introduction

Dynamic physical properties

Dynamic chemical properties

Dynamic biological properties

Summary

References

Further reading

Chapter 4 Assessing soil health

Introduction to soil health assessment

Approaches to soil health assessment

Summary

References

Further reading

Chapter 5 Viticultural practices and soil health

An overview

Viticultural management for soil health

Other aspects of vineyard soil management

Viticultural production systems

Summary

References

Further reading

Chapter 6 Soil and environmental influences on grapevine growth, fruit and wine characteristics

Introduction

The genotype × environment interaction

Summary

References

Further reading

Chapter 7 What does the future hold?

Introduction

Climate change: impacts on viticulture and wine

Sustainable winegrowing

Soil health and terroir

Summary

References

Further reading

Appendix 1

Index

Preface

We wrote this book to 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 is all about soil health – what are the important soil properties and how should they be measured and managed to attain a vigneron’s objectives in making and selling the best-quality wine from their vineyard? Soil scientists like to talk about soil quality, but as a farmer observed in Iowa Farmer Today in November 2013 ‘Anything can have quality, but only living things can have health’. Thus, in this book we have emphasised the importance of the interactions among the physical and chemical properties of soil in creating a favourable biological condition – this is the essence of soil health.

In leading the reader to some final conclusions about the relationships among vineyard soils, vine growth, yield and quality attributes of wine – including flavour and aroma – we thought it necessary to review the important inherent and dynamic soil properties, the choices available to a vigneron to measure these properties, and the various soil management practices that can be applied to maintain or improve soil health.

Our later chapters deal with the climate and environment (including soil) interaction, as moderated by the choice of grapevine genetics. What the future may hold for viticulture is discussed in terms of the impact of climate change, the sustainability of winegrowing and that ever-hardy perennial and topical question – what determines the ‘terroir’ of a particular site? Wine writers frequently expound on terroir as reflecting a wine’s ‘sense of place’, as do some winemakers who aver that their goal is to make wines that ‘speak of place’, and not winemaking or style.

However, our main aim with this book is to help the reader establish a clear foundation for understanding vineyard soils, especially the science underpinning that understanding, and to encourage informed decision making as to how to manage and improve soil health in vineyards.

In writing this book we have drawn on the knowledge and experience of several friends, colleagues and contacts in or contributing to the wine industry. In no particular order they are: Rob Sutherland, De Bortoli Estate, Yarra Valley, Victoria; Daniel Watson and Matt Stafford, Craggy Range Wines, New Zealand; Dr Jacqueline Edwards, Agriculture Victoria, Bundoora, Victoria; Associate Professor Ian Porter, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria; Dr Rob Bramley, CSIRO, Adelaide, South Australia; Dr Paul Petrie and Dr Victor Sadras, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Adelaide, South Australia; Dr Rob Walker, CSIRO Adelaide, Australia; Professor Cornelius (Kees) van Leeuwen, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, Bordeaux, France; Dr Mark Imhof, Agriculture Victoria, Bundoora, Victoria; Professor Gary Sposito, University of California, Berkeley, USA; Dr Melanie Weckert, National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales; Mr Chris Penfold, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia; Professor Havier Tardáguila, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain; Steve and Prue Henschke, Henschke Wines, Eden Valley, South Australia; Phillip Jones, Bass Phillip Wines, Gippsland, Victoria. We are most grateful for their contributions.

Copyright in all illustrations in the book belongs to the authors unless otherwise specified. We thank Jeremy Lewis of Oxford University Press, New York, USA for smoothing the path in obtaining permissions from the Press.

Robert E White

Mark P Krstic

Melbourne, March 2019

About the authors

Robert White is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne and author of Principles and Practice of Soil Science, 4th edn, Soils for Fine Wines and Understanding Vineyard Soils, 2nd edn. With wide experience in soil, water and nutrient management in Australia, USA, UK, New Zealand, China and southern Africa, he consults to the wine industry and provides scientific advice on soil management to the Australian Wine Research Institute. He has received several awards for his research and scholarship and is an honorary life member of the International Union of Soil Sciences.

Mark Krstic is a researcher with over 23 years’ experience in the wine industry. Mark is Business Development Manager at the Australian Wine Research Institute and is active in research on climate change impacts, understanding the grape to wine quality continuum and supporting industry education. Mark has previously worked for the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries and CSIRO. Mark is also a past President of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology.

Robert White (left) and Mark Krstic (right)

1

Introduction to the concept of soil health

What is meant by soil health?

Producers of agricultural products have long been concerned about a soil’s ‘fitness for purpose’ in relation to productivity. Initially the focus was on the productive capacity of the soil, with an emphasis on its fertility, which gradually transitioned into the broader concept of soil quality. Encapsulated in the latter concept was an expectation that use of soil for production of food and fibre would be sustainable in the long term and have minimal adverse impact of the environment. Thus, Doran and Parkin (1994) gave one of the most widely accepted definitions of soil quality as ‘the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health’. Subsequently, however, the term soil quality has been replaced by the more colloquial term ‘soil health’, emphasising a primary focus on biological activity in the soil. This change occurred because of increasing attention being paid to a soil’s biology, the role of which had been neglected in the era of synthetic fertilisers and the quest for maximum yield of harvestable products.

Recognising the evolution of the concept of soil quality into the more recent concept of soil health, a group of scientists in the USA developed the Cornell Soil Health Assessment Training Manual for crop and vegetable production in the north-east states (Gugino et al. 2009). The aim was to guide farmers in assessing the soil health and how to manage their soils to alleviate constraints on production, while minimising adverse effects on the environment. They identified several important soil functions that underpin soil health, namely:

•infiltration and water storage

•porosity and aeration

•retention and cycling of nutrients

•pest and weed suppression

•detoxification of harmful chemicals

•storage of carbon

•promoting plant growth and harvestable yield.

Gugino et al. (2009) clearly showed that attaining a healthy soil state depends not only on soil biology, but also on a complex interaction of physical, chemical and biological properties and processes. Although developed for broad-acre agriculture and vegetables, the Cornell University approach to soil health is equally applicable to viticulture (Schindelbeck and van Es 2011).

Industry views of soil health

Early in 2010, the then Australian Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation commissioned one of us (Robert White) to review the status of soil health in viticulture. One aspect of the review was a survey of a range of industry people, from large and small wineries, grape growers’ associations, scientists and consultants, to determine their attitudes to, and understanding of, the importance of soil health. In particular, they were asked to reflect on the relevance of soil health to their businesses, whether they had changed management practices to improve soil health, and the constraints encountered in trying to achieve this improvement.

All respondents were interested in soil health and identified various physical, chemical and biological issues that they wanted to understand better and to improve upon, where the need arose. Although the priority given to individual issues varied with the scale of the business, the winegrowing region and soil type, the more common concerns were about soil salinity, sodicity and soil structure, organic matter, vine nutrition, soil and plant testing, soil water and irrigation, biological tests and what they meant, and the packaging and dissemination of knowledge for adoption by wine industry members.

Tackling wine industry concerns

This book aims to provide a coherent narrative of the nuts and bolts of soil health. We discuss how soil health in a vineyard can be managed and what the known connections are among soil health, fruit quality and wine characteristics. This is important information that can affect the performance of a vineyard, the profitability of a business and its long-term sustainability. In so doing, we follow the principles of the Cornell soil health system in recognising that soil properties fall into two broad groups:

•Inherent factors: factors that are essentially constant on a human timescale; they cannot be changed without drastic human intervention such as through earth-moving. These factors represent the influence of geology (the parent material) and the environment on soil formation at a particular site. A vigneron’s assessment of these factors will significantly influence the choice of sites for a vineyard and can be thought of as expressing a site’s ‘sense of place’. The French term terroir embodies these factors as well as recognising the influence of the winemaking tradition in a region.

•Dynamic factors: factors that can be changed. These factors can be manipulated by a vigneron and can be changed on a relatively short timescale (in years). They include soil properties such as organic matter content, pH, nutrient availability, soil structure and strength, water retention and supply, drainage and aeration, and soil borne pests and diseases.

Soil scientist Hans Jenny (1941) was one of the first to identify the role of inherent factors in soil formation when he proposed that soil formation evolved as a function of the interaction between parent material, climate, organisms and topography, acting for variable periods of time. This model was especially useful for explaining the great variation that occurs in soil profiles in the landscape. The profile describes the vertical arrangement of soil horizons, labelled A, B and C from the top down, as seen in a soil pit or roadside cutting (Fig. 1.1). We shall refer repeatedly to soil profiles and their particular features in subsequent chapters, which deal with the inherent and dynamic properties of soils and vineyard management practices that may be used to modify them.

The structure and format of this book

Following this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 gives examples of the profound influence of inherent factors on soil formation and vineyard performance in some well-known wine regions around the world. Chapter 3 delves into the important dynamic properties – what they are and how they interact to modify soil processes that in turn determine how well the soil functions for vine growth. Chapter 4 discusses the assessment of soil health – the pros and cons of using various measures to assess these dynamic soil properties; procedures for soil sampling, measuring the properties and monitoring over time, with case studies to illustrate some of the pitfalls. A minimum dataset, developed during workshops with vignerons and scientists, is presented for assessing soil health at an individual site. However, we recognise that individuals must make their own choices based on the availability of, and access to, soil testing services, and their overall viticultural and winemaking objectives.

Fig. 1.1. Soil profile of a Red Brown Earth (Brown Dermosol) in the Hunter Valley GI, New South Wales, Australia. Note the brown A horizon from 0 to 20 cm, over a reddish-brown B1 horizon (20–45 cm, grading into a yellow-brown B2 horizon (45–70 cm) over weathering limestone. The scale is in cm.

Chapter 5 reviews the effects of a range of vineyard management practices on soil health, using case studies to illustrate some of the practical outcomes. This chapter also reviews soil health in conventional, organic and biodynamic vineyard production systems. The range of commercial fertilisers, ‘biofertilisers’ and soil amendments are also discussed in terms of the extent to which scientific evidence supports some of the claims made. Chapter 6 discusses the genetics by environment interaction on vine growth and fruit quality, with various examples of the influence of specific soil properties on wine characteristics. Finally, Chapter 7 reviews the potential impact of, and adaptation to, climate change in the context of site selection and soil health – what are the key issues? We discuss sustainable management practices and consumer perceptions of winegrowing and tease out