Viticulture and Enology

The Winery of the Future

While a few winemakers have consciously adopted a Luddite-like anti-technology position, most recognize that science and technology have led to better wines. Few places have done more to further the science of winemaking than the University of California, Davis, and its research and teaching winery and new sustainable research facilities are already perfecting many old processes as they test new ideas.

The microorganisms in specific vineyards may be the first step toward understanding wines sense of place

Terroir -- the name given to the unique blend of a vineyard's soils, water and climate -- sculpts the flavor and quality of wine. Now a new study led by UC Davis researchers offers evidence that grapes and the wines they produce are also the product of an unseen but fairly predictable microbial terroir, itself shaped by the climate and geography of the region, vineyard -- and even individual vine.