Leaf

(feuille in French). Vine leaves range in size up to that of a dinner plate but are normally the area of a human hand (100 to 200 cm²). Their individual area correlates with shoot vigour and also varies with vine variety (Merlot has large leaves, for example, while Gewürztraminer has small leaves). The vine is a leafy plant with sometimes many hectares of total leaf area per hectare of vineyard. A proportion of these leaves will be shaded and therefore not photosynthetic. The total leaf and shoot system of a vine is known as the canopy.