Winemaker’s Bookshelf By Gary Strachan ‘Grapes’ is a good entry-level text


Its contents range from the history and botanical position of grapes in the world to harvest and postharvest processing.


Y


es, this is a book title ... not the topic. I find it remarkable that of all the books written about viticulture, this is the first I’ve encountered that is simply called Grapes. It is one volume of a horticultural series published by the not for profit organization CABI (Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International).


When I first started to read this book, I was encouraged that it was a middle of the road text that would be a good introduction for people who are entering the grape industry as a second career. This market requires a good book with hands-on recommendations, but not too technical, sort of like an expanded version of the Grape Management Guide.


After having read the book, I think I will continue to recommend David Jackson’s The Production of Grapes and Wine in Cool Climates as an introductory text, along with Richard Smart’s Sunlight into Wine. Not to say this isn’t a good text, but it would be a good idea to read the other books first or take a course or two in viticulture, at least to build up your technical vocabulary.


The text was written by Glen and Leroy Creasey from Lincoln University (New Zealand) and Cornell University (New York) respectively. ISBN 13: 978 1 84593 401 9. 295 pp.


The book is divided into ten chapters ranging from the history and botanical position of grapes in the world to harvest and postharvest processing.


I liked the way in which the material is developed in a systematic and readable style. The original sources are cited, yet minimally interrupt the flow of information.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Spring 2015 31


The authors have done a great job at covering a huge amount of material in a relatively short book. This has resulted in a text that is more


focussed on


what can be done, than on how to do it.


For those who want to know the details, there are citations that will lead you to the original sources of full information.


In some cases I found that the book answered longstanding questions whose solutions I hadn’t yet encountered. There were also citations of leading edge research


that I hadn’t encountered before. I especially liked the fundamental approach the authors took to the question of vine balance: Synthesis of all vine components is limited by the photosynthetic capacity of each vine’s leaf area and its exposure to sunlight. The photosynthate must


then be distributed between root growth, shoot growth and fruit production.


In order to sustain a healthy vineyard and an economical level of fruit quality and quantity, the vineyard operator must utilize practices


which allocate photosynthate to an optimal balance. Root development must be


maintained in order to gather enough water and nutrient to


support growth. Leaf area must provide enough photosynthate to support economic fruit development but not so much that excessive shoot growth must be


removed. This is not an easy task. Much of the book is devoted to a discussion of the factors that help to maintain a healthy, balanced vineyard.


After the three introductory


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