Vineyard

A vineyard, vineyard or vineyard, Wingert, Wengert is one for the wine-growing agricultural area in steep, slope or flat position. Several individual plots abutting provide a common retailer or location with similar site conditions, these layers are in turn associated with a wine-growing region. Documents and wine regions represent geographic origins and have only limited explanatory power on wine quality. Usually vineyards form more or less closed surface areas that have climatic advantages especially in the northern growing areas and have long been used winegrowing. Individual vineyards in the area are referred to as scattered vineyards. They are often on the climatic boundary or last witnesses of a once very extensive viticulture. Particularly steep and difficult to be managed vineyards fall prey to many places of social fallow and overgrown with bushes, it is called tooth gap formation. Vineyards are mostly inclined to the south or west, take full advantage of the sunlight.

Structure and purpose of use

Depending on the steepness of the traditional vineyards able to reduce the slope are terraced with dry stone walls. By Rebflurbereinigung many historic dry stone walls were removed to facilitate the automated management and to allow access. An abandoned ( not farmed ) vineyard is named in the winery language also Driesche.

A modern, farmed vineyard plant is used today as a rule only for the production of wine grapes, table grapes or raisins. Landscaped used vines mixed cultures are increasingly disappeared with mechanization and specialization of the vineyards. From the Middle Ages to about 1900, it was common, even fruit, vegetables and herbs grow on the same land for its own purposes or for marketing, where the vine always represented the main crop. To further addition use the cut Rebholz was used for heating and remote shoot tips as green fodder for animals, now serve these organic " waste " as a valuable humus suppliers. Even today there before the varietal cultivation, it used to be common, several varieties to plant mixed, which is also called a mixed record. Traditional Single pole systems, as they are still partly to be found on the Moselle and other steep slope areas, gave way to modern espalier on the wire frame. The grapevines are set machine justice, the distance between the rows of vines is uniform and is in Direktzuglagen about 2 m in order to use narrow- track tractors and Grape harvesting optimally. The Stock distances are 1 to 1.20 meters extremely. The vine rows themselves usually run in a vertical line to the slope. Where transverse pulling lines, each abgeböscht, one speaks of Querterrassierung, which enables particularly in very steep areas management in a direct train. The number and arrangement of the wires on which the Rebtriebe be attached, or serve the woody fruit for fixing rods, depends on the education and the rank behavior of the individual varieties. In the vertical wire trellis, the half sheet or flat -type training is common. Wide-area education systems such as Lenz-Moser systems were common, especially in the 1950s, but are largely disappeared due to qualitative disadvantages and lack of harvesters suitability. The grape zone is not as close to the ground as earlier usual to ensure a more rational use and better drying of the grapes. High foliage walls allow in the northern growing areas a high assimilation efficiency, which ultimately serves to improve the production of sugar in the grape. The machine- sawn and better nutrient supply to the vines by fertilization were only at this quality optimization.

As a non- uniform vineyard planting single rows of vines are considered fencing, vines on walls or Pergolenbegrünungen.

Permit requirement

The creation of new vineyards is subject to approval in all EU countries. In general, this is regulated in Germany by state regulations. If the grown wine is only for self-consumption, is an area of ​​up to an Ar without authorization (Hobby farming). At present there are in the EU a ban on planting new vines for. It can only be transferred in some cases planting rights of derelict land on surfaces that are to be replanted. Presumably the ban on planting new plants for 2015 are repealed. Table grapes plants are exempt and can be created without authorization.

Ecology and Nature Conservation

Objectives of nature protection in viticulture include securing the performance of the ecosystem ( soil, water resources and climate), the receipt of the usability of natural resources, securing the plant and animal world and the diversity, uniqueness and beauty of nature and landscape.

Vineyards are man- made ​​landscapes and the most affected by agricultural ecosystems. They are usually very intensively farmed. seen and as monocultures, on the other hand they are also important refuges of plants and animals. They form their own ecosystem, because the vineyard includes not only the rows of vines, but also other cultural landscape features such as dry stone walls, retaining walls, stone fences, borders and hedges, which also help to shape the typical landscape of viticulture dominated by landscapes crucial.

By land consolidation in the 1960s and 1970s, the associated creation of larger parcels and by the vermehrtem in recent decades use of machines for management of vineyards conditions changed. Even here, the creation of ecological niches is still possible.

In the vineyard it comes to small-scale habitats with different microclimatic conditions, which can accommodate both heat and shade loving plants and animals a suitable location. Often you will find there rare animal and plant species with Mediterranean and continental distribution area.

Typical of the vineyard is its sun- exposed location. Especially in the steep slopes, which tend to be used extensively, in which the use of machinery is hardly feasible and the ground is dry and rocky, most species are found. This biodiversity also includes rare birds such as bee-eaters, goldfinch or Red-backed Shrike, wild bee species such as the viper head mason bees, reptiles such as the wall lizard, the sand lizard and smooth snake or plants such as the vineyard Grape Hyacinth. Dry stone walls, which can be heated up in the summer to 70 degrees Celsius, offer due to its many nooks and crannies and the fine earth located there a very special habitat, especially for heat-loving open land species, especially for rare rebspezifische wild herbs such as the highly endangered bulbous plants the vineyard leek society. Mentioned here is particularly the very rare Wild Tulip (Tulipa sylvestris), which is on the Red List. Other characteristic plant communities are also the Mauerzimbelkrautflur and Stonecrop Houseleek hallway.

They provide more habitats for heat-loving reptiles such as lizards, green lizards, slow worms, forest lizards, fence lizards, smooth snakes, vipers or Aspisvipern. Are wetlands created, one finds amphibians like toad, common toad or frog jumping.

Insects also find suitable living conditions. In some cases, even a special relationship between plants and animals have developed the Rebflur: The Festoon populated almost exclusively old vineyards because its caterpillars feed on the ordinary Osterluzei, which occurs especially in areas

In Rebgassen that are planted increasingly in conventional viticulture today to prevent example, erosion and nutrient leaching, there are spiders and insects which in turn attract birds and reptiles. Hedges improve the microclimate, are wind protection and at the same food, breeding and retreat of numerous animal species.

Important for structural diversity, which in turn favors a high biodiversity, the preservation of vineyard walls, solitary trees, shrubbery and unpaved rural roads. Also important is the restrained use of pesticides: In Germany the wine makes only 0.8% of the agricultural area of, consumes around 30 kg per hectare per year but 13.2 % of all pesticides. A big problem is the development of resistance. Many species develop adaptation mechanisms and give thanks to the increased survival of these properties to offspring. Studies have shown that the biodiversity on agricultural land through the use of pesticides and fungicides is approximately halved.

Even in conventional viticulture, there are many ways to economize animal or plants without Effizienverlust or mitigate pests in a natural way. It could be as good as returned to zero at the Baden-Württemberg wine-growing areas by the confusing method for curbing the grape berry moth insecticide use. A high biodiversity is in the vineyard thus also of economic significance.

Records

The highest vineyard north of the Alps is located in Visperterminen in the Valais Canton of Switzerland ( higher ground in South Tyrol and Spain). In the driest area of ​​Switzerland vines grow to a height of 1,150 m above sea level

Located in Latvia Sabile can boast with the northernmost according to the Guinness Book of World Records vineyard in the world a special feature.

The northernmost traditional wine-growing areas are now the two eastern regions of Saxony and Saale- Unstrut dar. Also in Hamburg on Stintfang and in Schleswig -Holstein is successful on small areas for several years grown wine. Reactivated old vineyards there in Hitzacker (Wendland) and Havel in the country to Werder. The traditional wine region of Lower Silesia near Zielona Gora ( formerly Green Mountain ) (Poland ) was temporarily extinguished almost completely; since the turn of the millennium but three new wineries have been established in two Mielęcinie (formerly Pfaff village), today part of the municipality Żarów, and one at Swidnica ( Schweidnitz ).

Since the 1960s, wine is also grown in the south of England.

In Belgium, there was from the 18th century to around 1960 only a single vineyard at Huy.

In Holland, Denmark and Sweden commercial wine production on a small scale. However, this does not take place in large and enclosed vineyard areas, but is very fragmented.

Southernmost wine growing country is the island of Tasmania and the South Island of New Zealand (viticulture in New Zealand). In Chile, presently Vineyards are created very far south.

The steepest vineyard is the Bremmer Calmont on the Moselle and the Angel Rock in the wine growing region Ortenau on the slopes of the northern Black Forest. The lowest-lying vineyard lies below sea level at the Dead Sea.