Page 60 - Grapevine NovDec 2021

Around The Vineyard

Vineyard vs. Vineyard:

Water Is The Great Unequalizer

By: Orest Protch
T he Impact of Water Irrigation is more then municipal waters. No two waters carry the same

turning on your Sprinkler or Drop Irrigation. chemical and nutrient loading. And this loading
Although the water you see may look, well, taken from the same source can even vary daily,
boring, when you delve deeper into its secrets, you monthly and yearly.
are entering the realm of rocket science, with a
dash of magic and a pinch of voodoo. One side of a lake may have different water chem-
istries than the other due to the way water flows
Vineyard water chemistry is more than just pH through it. It can have numerous streams and riv-
and a few other high school level chemistry tests. It ers feeding it, each draining a different watershed.
can possibly explain why some vineyard wines can These may be draining mineral outcroppings, storm
be award winning some years and other years be sewers, municipal wastewater plant discharges,
best forgotten. mines, farms and even burnt forests. Each of these
will add differing kinds and amounts of chemical
Vineyards take their raw water from lakes, rivers, elements and compounds to waters. Even a few
water wells and in some cases use treated potable hundred meters apart, water samples will show

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