Vineyard - Definition and Overview

A vineyard

A vineyard is a place where grapes are grown for making wine, raisins, or table grapes.

Vineyards are often on hillsides and on soil that would be marginal for other plantings. Some of the best wines come from extremely stony soil on quite steep hills, conditions which would make most other agricultural products uneconomic. A stereotypical ideal vineyard site for wine grapes is a hillside in a dry climate (to reduce the incidence of disease), with southern exposure (for maximum ability to ripen grapes), good drainage (to reduce water uptake into the berries), and poor fertility (to force the vine to put all its energy into the fruit rather than foliage).

See also

• List of wine producing regions
• Vineyard Movement