Today’s Monday Musings is about the health of soils in vineyards. There is nothing more important than the health of the soils where grapes are grown. There are a myriad of different soil types that we look at in the wine industry. Some are composed of limestone, marl, schist, gravel, or pudding stones. Other such as flysch are sedimentary rock layers that stem from water flows. In addition to the composition of the soil, we often talk about the age of the soils and what type they are meaning, volcanic, sedimentary, or other. A classic example is when we talk about Barolo. One part of the vineyards are Tortonian soils. Tortonian soil is found in the comunes of Barolo and La Morra. The soils are between 7.2 to 11.6 million years old. 

The Helvetian/Serravallian soils of Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba and part of Castiglione Falletto are older soils and produce wines that are longer-lived and fuller bodied.

To keep soils healthy, some producer grow grasses between the vines, others do not till the soils at all, others still do not use tractors because it compacts the soil too much. Still others use only green manure. Many use cover crops which grow roots in the soils and bring biodiversity and prevent erosion. Cover crops increase soils organic materials, retain moisture, prevent soil erosion, maintain nutrients, and can make vineyards more climate resistant.

Many are today looking at how to rejuvenate their soils through organic and biodynamic preparations or through what is known as regenerative agriculture. There are many different practices that are followed.

Focusing on improving our soils will also aid with climate change, making our vineyards more climate resistant, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

I will continue to think and write about soils in the coming weeks.