Double Cabernet Yields for Better Wine?
Dr. Mark Matthews of UC Davis Viticulture Department proposes that doubling yields from 18 buds per vine to 36 buds per vine doesn’t hurt the quality of the wine and his findings were published recently in American Vineyard Magazine. This study goes against the practice of heavy pruning and thinning which is thought to encourage more intense flavor in each cluster. Matthews assembled a team of trained evaluators and concluded that wine made from higher yield vines had more fruity aromas than those that did not. The test was performed with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes only, and the integrity of the tasters has been raised into question by some Vineyard Consultants. Dr. Matthews proposes winemakers and growers experiment themselves:
Matthews encourages them to do it by isolating portions of their vineyards, pruning part of the test plot so each cordon has three spurs instead of two, and pruning some with the traditional two buds per cordon.
The grapes would need to stay separate and finally be compared blind to assess the result.
