Are Vineyard drain tiles just a necessary component of wine grape growing, a mandated step in water conservation, or an indicator of less-than-ideal site selection?
I know nothing about this topic, so I hope I have not stepped on any toes.
I recall attending a Nickel and Nickel dinner, wherein a gentleman from the company told me that drain tiles had been installed in a prestigious vineyard that they bottled. I remember wondering why a winery focused on conveying the unique, site specific qualities of exceptional vineyards would draw from a site that lacked ideal growing conditions. My thinking may be all wrong here. Please fill me in on the straight dope.
Drain tiles are only necessary, in a farming sense, in areas where excess water does not perk through the root zone area within a reasonable time. The goal is to not let water soak the roots, and do promote oxygen into the soil with a result of warming the soils earlier in the Spring…at least in my area. I’m not familiar with any mandated requirements for water conservation but I can imagine a farm in a dry area wanting to capture excess water, beyond what is called field capacity, in an irrigation pond. When one inch of rain falls on an acre it delivers about 30K gallons which depending on soil type and rain frequency may be too little or too much. I do know vineyards in my area that put drain tile in every other row and others where they placed them only in the wetter soils. For my soil type, and goal to drain off any excess water from winter thaw, I spaced them farther apart with placement dictated on an idea of how to intersect water moving laterally. It has worked well and I can tell it’s doing a nice job in the early Spring. Getting oxygen into the root zone is a very good thing for active root growth and microbial soil health. As far as the “ideal” site I know of no vineyard where they do not have to deal with some issue related to the soil, weather, pest management, or natural resources. Most farmers try to understand the site when selecting a vineyard to know how it can be managed for a healthy crop. Tiling is a generally a good thing to do if you have reason. If not it’s a an expensive exercise.
Red Tail Ridge Winery on Seneca Lake had drainage tiles installed as well during the creation of their vineyard, probably for climatic reasons as Gary suggested. You might want to give them a call to ask.
Old Kraft Vineyard in St Helena uses drainage tiles also. They were installed decades after the vineyard was planted when new owners attempted to rejuvenate the old vines. Worked quite well.
I don’t have anything to add to what others posted regarding the use of drainage tiles, but I want to add to something Gary wrote regarding “ideal site”: with agrilculture, an ideal site is not a measure of the perfect; it’s a measure of the possible.
I was just reading Jancis Robinson’s book and she mentions that Bordeaux has massive drainage systems, which I did not know, since most of the vineyards are built on swamps that were cleared by the Dutch in the 16th Century or thereabouts.