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Viticulture and the Role of Geomorphology: General Principles and Case Studies
Author(s) -
Townsend Christi G.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
geography compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.587
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 1749-8198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-8198.2011.00449.x
Subject(s) - viticulture , vineyard , geography , agriculture , work (physics) , archaeology , wine , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , optics
Viticulture, the agriculture of grape growing, is a unique geographical expression of agriculture as it is often practiced in areas deemed unsuitable for most other types of agriculture. A thorough understanding of the physical landscape is essential to the development and maintenance of a vineyard as soils, geology, and geomorphology are variables that play a significant role in the successful cultivation of grapes. Geographers have a long history of exploring the importance of the physical geographic attributes of particular growing regions in viticulture, however few have endeavored to explore the relationship between geomorphology and viticulture. The broad purpose of this paper is to explore viticulture both as an anthropogeomorphic agent and the reverse impact of the geomorphic landscape on viticulture. Three geographically distinct wine growing regions in the Northern Hemisphere are examined: The Texas Hill Country viticultural area located west of Austin, Texas; the Napa Valley viticultural area in northwestern California; and the Valais, Switzerland viticultural area. Of the geomorphic processes at work in these viticultural areas, the construction of hillslope terraces is perhaps the most intense expression of anthropogeomorphology on the viticultural landscape. The geomorphic influences at work on the viticultural landscape are many and varied; as such there is ample opportunity for further research on this topic.