The world’s wine consumers are demanding more white wines. Red wine sales are declining. But what if your vineyard is planted mainly with red grape varieties? Removing and replanting a vineyard is costly, and it takes years before you have a new vineyard in production.
A more affordable and quicker solution is to graft a white variety onto your already established red variety vines. The root system is already in place, and you can start harvesting in the second year. Wine growers in Lodi, California, learnt that during a recent “top-grafting a vineyard” meeting organised by the Lodi Winegrape Commission. The region is expected to do quite a lot of top grafting this year, as grapes such as pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay are more in demand than Bordeaux grapes and petite sirah (durif).
Top-grafting (or sometimes “field grafting“) has its risks, though. The success rate varies and can be low. The most important thing is to have a healthy vineyard with no viruses or other diseases.
Read more about top grafting: winebusiness
