After a week in the Serra Gaucha wine region of Brazil, I have two particularly noteworthy things to report – both very new to me, and I suspect to many.
The first is a brand new piece of Chilean viticultural hardware, as seen in the video below. It is essentially a massive lumbering hairdryer that blows air onto the vines at 200km/h and 150ºC. This process has two effects: firstly it kills all insects, thereby eliminating the need for pesticide. Secondly, it sends the vines into shock, to which they react by producing a surge of jasmonic acid, the plants'...
