A winery is a building or property that produces wine , or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company . Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses , bottling lines , laboratories , and large expanses of tanks known as tank farms. Wineries may have existed as long as 8,000 years ago.
31-509: Bodega Catena Zapata is a family-owned winery located in Mendoza, in the sub appellation of Agrelo, Argentina . The winery structure is distinguished by its pyramid-like design based on Mayan architecture . The winery was founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena and was passed to his son Domingo. Domingo’s son, Nicolás Catena Zapata (A.K.A. Nicolás Catena), was a pioneer to introduce European winemaking techniques to Argentina, including
62-443: A "natural" resistance to pests. The implementation of mechanical harvesting is often stimulated by changes in labor laws, labor shortages, and bureaucratic complications. It can be expensive to hire labor for short periods of time, which does not square well with the need to reduce production costs and harvest quickly, often at night. However, very small vineyards, incompatible widths between rows of grape vines and steep terrain hinder
93-485: A bewildering range of systems and techniques in recent years. Due to the often much more fertile New World growing conditions, attention has focussed heavily on managing the vine's more vigorous growth. Innovation in palissage (training of the vine, usually along a trellis, and often referred to as "canopy management") and pruning and thinning methods (which aim to optimize the Leaf Area/Fruit (LA/F) ratio relative to
124-450: A high wastewater output. To a lesser degree, wastewater is produced if boilers or water conditioning equipment is used. Vineyard A vineyard ( / ˈ v ɪ n j ər d / VIN -yərd , UK also / ˈ v ɪ n j ɑːr d / VIN -yard ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production
155-961: A purchase. While some associate wineries with large winemaking regions such as Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley in California, the Barossa Valley in Australia or the legendary wine regions of France ( Bordeaux , Burgundy , Champagne ) and Italy , wineries can be found nearly everywhere. The east coast of the United States also has winemaking regions like New York's Finger Lakes region, Aquidneck Island , RI and Long Island, NY and Cape May, NJ. Wineries do not have to be located adjacent to vineyards; grapes can be shipped anywhere. In addition, people make wine out of other fruits and plants (dandelion wine, apple wine, strawberry wine, honey wine, passion fruit wine), so these specialty wineries tend to pop up where
186-420: A small farm vineyard is a small wine producer or may not have its own vineyard , and instead sources its grape product from outside suppliers. The concept is similar to a microbrewery , in that small batches of product are made primarily for local consumption. The concept of the micro-winery is not as easily accepted as that of the microbrewery, however, as the general public has been conditioned to associate
217-468: A special permit to open a satellite store in a tourist area. New York's passing of the Farm Winery Act of 1976 set an example for other states to pass similar laws. Farm wineries usually operate at a smaller scale than commercial wineries. Farm wineries are a form of value added marketing, known as agritourism, for farmers who may otherwise struggle to show a profit. A micro-winery can either be at
248-644: A team of archaeologists discovered a 6000 year old wine press in a cave in the Areni region of Armenia , and identified the site as a small winery. Previously, in the northern Zagros Mountains in Iran , jars over 7000 years old were discovered to contain tartaric acid crystals (a chemical marker of wine), providing evidence of winemaking in that region. Archaeological excavations in the southern Georgian region of Kvemo Kartli uncovered evidence of wine-making equipment (containers called qvevri ) dating back 8000 years. In 2017
279-518: A vineyard's microclimate ) have largely replaced more general, traditional concepts like "yield per unit area" in favor of "maximizing yield of desired quality". Many of these new techniques have since been adopted in place of traditional practice in the more progressive of the so-called "Old World" vineyards. Other recent practices include spraying water on vines to protect them from sub-zero temperatures, new grafting techniques, soil slotting, and mechanical harvesting. Such technique have made possible
310-452: A wider range of wines; as it is not tied to the grapes it grows. New York State provides a specific micro-winery license that requires the microwinery to purchase local ingredients. The urban winery is a recent phenomenon whereby a wine producer chooses to locate their winemaking facility in an urban setting within a city rather than in the traditional rural setting near the vineyards . With advances in technology and transportation, it
341-420: A winery as having a vineyard. A winery uses similar wine-making equipment as a major commercial winery, just on a smaller scale. Glass carboys and sanitary plastic pails are often seen in the facilities of a micro-winery. Typically, each batch of wine yields 23 Liters (6 US gallons). One of the primary differences of a micro-winery as compared to a typical winery is that a micro-winery is typically able to offer
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#1733084494884372-412: Is known as viticulture . Vineyards are often characterised by their terroir , a French term loosely translating as "a sense of place" that refers to the specific geographical and geological characteristics of grapevine plantations, which may be imparted to the wine itself. The earliest evidence of wine production dates from between 6000 and 5000 BC. Wine making technology improved considerably with
403-402: Is not a problem for an urban winery to grow their grapes in a remote location and then transport them to the urban facility for crushing, fermentation and aging. Urban wineries have been opened in cities across the United States including San Francisco; Sacramento; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Frederick, Maryland; New York; Cincinnati; San Diego; and Los Angeles to name a few. Wilridge Winery was
434-480: The University of California, Davis , and California State University, Fresno , among others, have been conducting scientific experiments to improve viticulture and educate practitioners. The research includes developing improved grape varieties and investigating pest control. The International Grape Genome Program is a multi-national effort to discover a genetic means to improving quality, increasing yield and providing
465-690: The New World is significant. Europe's 1.6 million vineyards are an average of 0.2 km (49 acres) each, while the average Australian vineyard is 0.5 km (120 acres), providing considerable economies of scale . Exports to Europe from New World growers increased by 54% in the six years up to 2006. There have also been significant changes in the kinds of grapes that are grown. For example, in Chile, large areas of low-quality grapes have been replaced with such grapes as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon . In Argentina, due to an economic down-turn, acreage of Malbec
496-669: The ancient Greeks but it was not until the end of the Roman Empire that cultivation techniques as we know them were common throughout Europe. In medieval Europe the Catholic Church was a staunch supporter of wine, which was necessary for the celebration of the Mass . During the lengthy instability of the Middle Ages, the monasteries maintained and developed viticultural practices, having the resources, security, stability and interest in improving
527-411: The development of "T" budding now permits the grafting of a different grape variety onto existing rootstock in the vineyard, making it possible to switch varieties within a two-year period. Local legislation often dictates which varieties are selected, how they are grown, whether vineyards can be irrigated and exactly when grapes can be harvested, all of which in serves to reinforce tradition. Changes in
558-428: The development of wine industries in New World countries such as Canada. Today there is increasing interest in developing organic , ecologically sensitive and sustainable vineyards. Biodynamic wine has become increasingly popular in viticulture. The use of drip irrigation in recent years has expanded vineyards into areas which were previously unplantable. For well over half a century, New York's Cornell University ,
589-585: The employment of machine harvesting even more than the resistance of traditional views which reject such harvesting. Numbers of New World vineyard plantings have been increasing almost as fast as European vineyards are being uprooted. Between 1990 and 2003, the number of U.S. vineyards increased from 1,180 to 3,860 km or 292,000 to 954,000 acres, while Australian vineyard numbers more than doubled from 590 to 1,440 km (146,000 to 356,000 acres) and Chilean vineyards grew from 654 to 1,679 km (161,500 to 415,000 acres). The size of individual vineyards in
620-551: The first urban winery in Seattle. Winery wastewater is primarily generated during the cleaning of winemaking equipment and facilities. The quantity and quality of wastewater shows seasonal variations. Wastewater handling involves collection, possible treatment, then disposal and/or reuse. Peak wastewater generation occurs during the "crush", in other words, when grapes are actively being processed into juice for fermentation. This process requires large amounts of clean water and results in
651-472: The fruit, rather than foliage. The terroir philosophy is predominantly French in origin, the flavour and character of the place defining the individuality and the special attributes of wines and combined with hundreds of years of the finest wine making traditions, terroir gives wines their distinctive taste and signature. However, wildfires in California and Australia have also influenced the character of vineyard plantations and grapes in those areas. A vignette
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#1733084494884682-573: The introduction of Malbec and vine growing in high altitudes. Nicolás Catena’s daughter, Laura Catena, and other members of the Zapata family, have also been involved in the winery. In 2023, it was awarded the title of the World's Best Vineyards. Winery The earliest known evidence of winemaking at a relatively large scale, if not evidence of actual wineries, has been found in the Middle East . In 2011
713-779: The law can also change which grapes are planted. For example, during Prohibition in the U.S. (1920–1933), vineyards in California expanded sevenfold to meet the increasing demand for home brewing. However, they were largely planted in varieties with tough skins that could be transported across the country to home wine-makers and the resulting wine was of a low quality. According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine , in April 2015, China (799,000 hectares or 1,970,000 acres) overtook France (792,000 hectares or 1,960,000 acres) in terms of land devoted to vineyards, in second place behind Spain (1,000,200 hectares or 2,472,000 acres),
744-454: The other substances are grown. For example, a winery in Hawaii produces pineapple wine. A class of winery license known as the farm winery allows farms to produce and sell wines on site. Farm wineries differ from commercial wineries in that the fruit which is the source of the wine is usually produced on the farm, and the final product is also sold on the farm. States such as New York have given
775-579: The quality of their vines. They owned and tended the best vineyards in Europe, and vinum theologium was considered superior to all others. European vineyards were planted with a wide variety of the Vitis vinifera grape. In the late 19th century, the entire species was nearly destroyed in an event known as the Great French Wine Blight , in which the grape pest phylloxera , an insect related to aphids ,
806-557: The remnants of an 8000-year-old facility for large-scale production was found 20 miles south of Tbilisi , Georgia . Wineries typically employ winemakers to produce various wines from grapes by following the winemaking process. This process involves the fermentation of fruit, as well as blending and aging of the juice. The grapes may be from vineyards owned by the winery or may be brought in from other locations. Many wineries also give tours and have cellar doors or tasting rooms where customers can taste wines before they make
837-425: The resulting wine may be virtually undetectable. Vineyards are often located on hillsides and planted in soil that is of only marginal value to other plants. A common saying is that "the worse the soil, the better the wine." Planting on hillsides, especially those facing north (in the southern hemisphere) or south (in the northern hemisphere), is most often in an attempt to maximize the amount of sunlight that falls on
868-481: The vineyard. For this reason, some of the best wines come from vineyards planted on quite steep hills, conditions which would make most other agricultural products uneconomic. The stereotypical vineyard site for wine grapes (in the Northern hemisphere) is a hillside in a dry climate with a southern exposure, good drainage to reduce unnecessary water uptake, and balanced pruning to force the vine to put more of its energy into
899-407: The world's largest producer. Terroir refers to the combination of natural factors associated with any particular vineyard. These factors include things such as soil, underlying rock, altitude, slope of hill or terrain, orientation toward the sun, and microclimate (typical rain, winds, humidity, temperature variations, etc.). No two vineyards have exactly the same terroir, although any difference in
930-445: Was accidentally introduced to Europe from North America. Native American grapevines include varieties such as Vitis labrusca , which are resistant to the insect. Vitis vinifera varieties were saved by being grafted onto the rootstock of Native American varieties, although there is still no remedy for phylloxera , which remains a danger to any vineyard not planted with grafted rootstock. The quest for vineyard efficiency has produced
961-486: Was significantly reduced in the 1980s, but in the 1990s, during the quality revolution incited by Malbec Pioneer Nicolás Catena Zapata, growers started planting more Malbec, most notably in higher altitudes where cooler temperatures and more intense sunlight yield more concentrated yet smoother and more complex malbecs. Grape changes are often in response to changing consumer demand but sometimes result from vine pull schemes designed to promote vineyard change. Alternatively,