SEND IN THE CLONES

When I think of the word clone, the first thing that comes to mind is a 2^nd rate Sc-Fi novel or the duplicating of sheep and goats in Great Britain.

In the wine industry cloning has actually been going on for quite some time. One just has to seek out a vine nursery for a selection. In some countries there is a formal process of evaluation and number assignment. In Germany there are even government agencies involved. If a clone is outstanding it can even get international distribution.

Climate and terrain play a large role in the success of a clone. Didn’t you have a favorite Aunt who was great with plants and would give you cuttings every time you visited. You were actually practicing the art of Cloning.

The first thing to keep in mind is that grapevines do not come from seeds. Whatever the varietal, you must get cuttings and plant them. On the average it takes a good five years for the vineyard to unfold

Remember that growing a clone in an area where it doesn’t fit will result in some pretty mediocre wine. There are several key characteristics that need to be considered when selecting a clone. They are budbreak ( you do not want to select an early budbreaker because frost will kill it and there goes your crop), berry color, disease resistance cluster size, yield, flavors, aromas and how the grapes ripen

Once it is planted clones may develop different characteristic from its parent based on their surroundings. This is where climate and terrain play such a large role. For example when growers in Oregon were thinking about planting Chardonnay they turned to neighboring California for cuttings. The result was a dismal failure because Oregon is a much cooler environment. When they brought in clones from Burgundy,France they had much better results because of similar climate and soils.

Once a clone has had proven success it is assigned a number to help vintners in the selection process. A nurseryman can be a wine makers best friend. This is just part of the science that goes on in the vineyard. Who would have thought how much goes into that glass of wine you are pouring now!

Cheers!!