Yield: Some specific examples

Vineyard yields vary enormously around the world and, in some regions with less dependable climates, from year to year. Among the highest reported yields are about 100 tonnes/ha for table grapes grown on complex trellises in Israel (if their juice were made into wine, this would convert into about 1,750 hl/ha!). The Argentine vine-breeder Angel Gargiulo was in the 1970s and 1980s encouraged to breed new wine grape varieties specifically designed for the Argentine environment which can yield up to 500 hl/ha (but were commercially planted only to a very limited extent). Commercial, well-managed vineyards in irrigated desert regions in California, Australia, and Argentina can routinely produce 15 tons/acre, almost 38 tonnes/ha (260 hl/ha). At the other end of the spectrum, pests, disease, drought, or bunch rot can all reduce yields to less than 1 tonne/ha, or 7 hl/ha. See Ch d’yquem as well as Domaine leroy and chapoutier for some examples of particularly low yields, encouraged for the sake of wine quality.