Alex-Wset-Advanced: 1. Grape Species/varieties/rootstocks

Front 1

4 main grapevine species in modern viticulture

Back 1

Vitis vinifera (main Eurasian species)
Vitis riparia, Vitis rupestris, Vitis berlandieri (North American species rarely used for winemaking, but rootstocks are grafted on to V. vinifera to prevent Phylloxera)

Front 2

Describe "shoots" with regards to a vine

Back 2

Shoots are the new growth a vine produces each year. Along the length of each shoot are a number of regularly spaced bumps called nodes. At each node there will be either a leaf and a flower or a leaf and a tendril. Buds form where leaf stems join the shoot.

Front 3

Describe "leaves" with regards to a vine

Back 3

These are the plant's engine. They are principally responsible for photosynthesis.

Front 4

Briefly explain photosynthesis

Back 4

The process by which plants use chlorophyll and energy from sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into the sugar glucose and oxygen.

Front 5

What are the three main uses a vine has for sugar glucose (which it produces from photosynthesis)

Back 5

1. The vine can combine the small glucose molecules into larger carbohydrates, which are the building block s for all its other structures.
2. The energy stored in the glucose can be released when the plant needs it for other living processes.
3. Glucose is concentrated in the fruit, to make them attractive to animals, which are needed to propagate the seeds.

Front 6

Describe "tendrils" with regards to a vine

Back 6

Unlike trees, vines are not able to support themselves so they need to grip a supporting structure in order to stay upright. Tendrils are the structure vines use to do this. Once a tendril senses that it has touched a structure such as a trellis wire, it will wind itself tightly around the wire in order to keep the shoot upright.