At the Ideal Wine Company we
recognise that wine as a concept is largely based around grapes. Without the
grape vine, wine would never have become the drink that has played a part in
every culture throughout human history.
This is why we make sure that the
luxury wines that we have for you are based on the most premium grapes the
world of viticulture has to offer. If you have a sub-standard grape then it
stands to reason that you will have a sub-standard bottle of wine at the end of
it.
However in order to have quality
grapes, you need to ensure that they are grown in the correct conditions. So
this leads us to the question, what are the best conditions to grow grapes in?
This is a complex question with no absolute answers; however there are a few
conditions that act as constants.
The first is climate. There are
certain climates that facilitate effective viticulture. This is why countries
such as France, Italy, Spain and Australia have grown to dominate the wine
industry. They have the correct climates.
They have the correct
environmental temperatures and weather patterns. These are the conditions that
aid growth. Generally the grape vine needs between 1300-1500 hours of sunlight
during the growing season.
Correlating with this is
rainfall. Rainfall provides the water the vine needs to aid growth. Even some
hotter climates don’t have the correct type of rainfall to facilitate effective
viticulture. The average vine needs an area with around 27 inches of rainfall throughout
the year to produce succulent grapes.
Then we have the type of soil. Soil is a
surprisingly diverse subject which effects product growth as an entire field.
If the soil isn’t correct, the vine won’t have the best start and you’ll be
left with a weaker wine. Experts generally, although not in all cases, conclude
that sandy loam soil is the ideal soil for viticulture. It drains effectively
but also has all the necessary nutrients the vine needs to thrive.
There’s also a case to be made for the style of
terrain the grapes of grown on. It is generally held to be a truth of
viticulture that slopes make for better vines than flat terrain. This concerns
the greater degree of exposure to sunlight a vine will receive on a slope.
