ne would think that with 6,000 or more years of viticulture experience, Western civilization would have an immediate answer to the seemingly simple question of "How many vines should I plant per acre?" Yet vine density is a hot topic in modern viticulture and is replete with new and on-going research from New York to California to New Zealand.

At Domaine Coteau a vine density of 2,437 vines per acre (row spacing of 5.5 feet and in-row spacing of one meter) was selected (very high density vis-à-vis the traditional spacings of California and Oregon). The main determinates used in this spacing decision were soil fertility, soil depth, and rootstock vigor. All three determinates pointed to high-density plantings.

High density allows each Pinot Noir vine to carry less than two pounds of grapes and still carry two tons of fruit per acre (the target goal of the Domaine). The following cultural practices are normally invoked to achieve this target yield:

• Winter pruning each vine (single Guyot) to seven buds
• Removing all double buds in springtime (evasivage)
• Thinning each vine to one cluster per shoot in August (vendage verte) when necessary.

Of course, the objective for invoking all these labor-intensive strategies is to produce physiologically ripe fruit (i.e., fruit capable of making great wine).