🌿 Drip irrigation

Drip irrigation is a way of supplying water through tubes from which it drips right to the roots of each vine. A thin tube with small holes is laid along the vineyard row. Water flows slowly and reaches only the place where it is needed.

The system saves water compared with ordinary irrigation, where a field is flooded or sprinkled. In hot, dry areas it helps vines survive drought, and where irrigation is allowed it makes yields steadier. Fertiliser dissolved in water can be delivered through the same tubes.

Watering affects the wine. Too much water dilutes the berries and lowers the concentration of flavour, while a mild shortage makes the vine produce more concentrated berries. So growers water with care. In some European countries irrigating vineyards is limited by rules and allowed only in dry years. Drip irrigation has become the most common way of irrigating vineyards, for example in Australia, California and Chile.