Jancis Robinson

Viticulture: Effects on wine quality

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

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For still wines, the viticulturist may well have a greater impact on wine quality than the winemaker since so many of the factors affecting quality are determined in the vineyard. The belief that ‘wine is made in the vineyard not the cellar’ became increasingly widespread during the 1990s and is now probably more widely quoted than ever.

Quite apart from the decisions involved in vineyard site selection, there are obvious ways in which viticulture can influence wine quality—selection of vine variety, rootstock, clone—and some where the effects are more difficult to identify.