Level 2 · Wine & Spirits Exam Prep
Viticulture
How the vineyard drives wine style — climate, soil, canopy, and disease management.
Topics covered
- Climate types
- Soil types
- Organic and biodynamic
- Vine diseases
Level 2 Study Guide
Viticulture — Climate and Soil
Quick Revision
- Cool climate: high acid, lighter body
- Warm climate: lower acid, fuller, higher alcohol
- Continental: cold winters, hot summers
- Maritime: moderate temp, rain
- Mediterranean: hot dry summer, mild winter
- Phylloxera → American rootstock grafting
Key Facts for the Exam
- Climate types: cool (high acidity, lighter body), moderate, warm (lower acidity, fuller body)
- Continental climate: cold winters, hot summers, low rainfall (e.g. Burgundy, Rioja)
- Maritime climate: mild temperatures, higher rainfall (e.g. Bordeaux, Marlborough)
- Mediterranean climate: hot, dry summers, mild wet winters (e.g. Languedoc, Barossa)
- Aspect (slope angle), altitude, and proximity to water all moderate vine temperature
- Phylloxera devastated European vineyards in the 19th century; solution: graft vines onto American rootstocks
Level 2 Exam Tips
- 1.Link climate type to wine style: cool = high acid, light body; warm = lower acid, full body, higher alcohol.
- 2.Continental, Maritime, and Mediterranean — know one key wine region as an example for each.
- 3.Phylloxera is a louse that attacks vine roots — rootstock grafting is the standard solution.
- 4.Aspect (south-facing slopes in NH) maximises sun exposure — explain why this matters for ripening.
Common Exam Mistakes
- ✗Confusing continental climate (cold winters, hot summers) with Mediterranean (dry summers, mild winters)
- ✗Saying phylloxera was solved by pesticides — the actual solution was grafting onto resistant American rootstocks
- ✗Forgetting altitude cools temperatures — high-altitude vineyards in warm regions can produce more elegant wines
Related Topics
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the difference between climate and weather in viticulture?
- Climate is the long-term average pattern of temperature, rainfall, and sunshine in a region — it determines what grape varieties grow well there. Weather is the specific conditions in a given year, which determines the quality and character of that vintage. Vintage variation is much greater in cool, marginal climates.
- What was phylloxera and how was it solved?
- Phylloxera is a tiny aphid-like insect that attacks the roots of Vitis vinifera vines, eventually killing them. It devastated European vineyards in the late 19th century. The solution was to graft European grape varieties onto American vine rootstocks, which are naturally resistant to phylloxera. Most of the world's vineyards still use grafted vines today.