Update on ISN Vineyard Project -- 2013 (January - March)

The ISN Vineyard Project has been in full swing this year with some impressive work on and off of the terraces!

Drinks for a Cause (DFAC)

Patricia Keppler, Elizabeth Kiihne and Julius Pfaffmann did a fantastic job presenting our project's goals, progress and upcoming research viticulture (left).

Our Mayor (right) was also excited about the project as he expressed in his speech to the crowd at DFAC.

Our project was even recognized in the paper Rheinpfalz!

Work on the terraces

The land we work at our vineyard is terraced.  This means our land resembles a staircase in which each of our LPs are in charge of a different 'step' with a number of their classmates.

• Learning how to tend to their vines (pruning, deweeding, etc.)
• Learning how to work together to reach common goals.
• Learning how to use the Vineyard to develop other important useful skills (e.g. surveying, etc.)







(Above) A shot of LPs getting to work on the vineyard in January.
Picture -- Courtesy of Adrian Lehmann



(Right) An LP from MS 1 is working with a team to measure the deminisions of the Vineyard.  Meanwhile, another LP (below) records the measurements using a table as an abstract bird's eye representation of our vineyard.

 

 

 

 

 

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Work off the terraces

Even when we are away from our terraces they are ever too far away from our minds,

because these vines are also wrapping themselves around our curriculum 

• Utilizing our shared experience to gain understanding of complex concepts
• (e.g. Factors of production, climate, etc.).
• Other interesting activities
• (e.g. construction, experiments, etc.)
• Autonomous research projects
• LPs from MS 1-4 are actively researching topics related to viticulture that corresponds with our curriculum to create a body of work to the benefit of all involved in the Vineyard project.
• Their final drafts will be submitted in May.

(Above) Is a resource from our partners at Pollichia that helps our LPs
to better understand the concept of climate and its importance.
(Below) A friendly librarian from the Landesbibliothek in Speyer gathers the
books we reserved from their online database to help us in our research.

MS 1

• Panoramic view from the Vineyard
• What are the 5 most important structures that one can see from our vineyard?   - Elyssa
• Mapping
• How to measure slope & topography? – To be done at the ISN Vineyard! - Fransiska
• Shopping
• Where do grapes and wine come from at the market?  -- Samuel
• Our Restless Planet 
• What is the significance of having a vineyard on a slope?  Why have a vineyard in the in a higher elevation? - Victor
• What type of soil do we have at the ISN Vineyard and which types are best suited for growing grapes? –  James

•  Ancient Civilizations & Grapes
• Describe the role grapes played in Ancient Greece.  (Anna)
• What ancient civilizations grew grapes and why? (Helene)
• What is the significance of grapes in Greek/ Roman Mythology? (Divya)
• Describe the role grapes played in Ancient Rome. (Maran)
• Describe Pre Roman Viticulture (Celts, etc.) and Roman viticulture in the Pfalz. (Tom)

MS 2

• Geography - Weather & Climate
• How has climate change changed viticulture in the Pfalz and abroad? Marco
• How can different weather events (droughts, hail storms, excessive rain) negatively affect vineyards (yield/ quality)? Hamzat
• What has been the impact of frost on Vineyards (and is there any way of preventing its affects)?
• History -- Middle Ages (approximately 500 – 1500 A.D.) & Early Modern Era (approximately 1500 – 1789 A.D.)
• How were grapes grown in the Middle Ages in the Pfalz? - Jan
• What are the origins of Wine Festivals in the Pfalz? - Michelle 
• Was there a ‘Renaissance’ or a ‘Reformation’ in viticulture during the Early Modern Era? - Jonathon

  MS 3

• Globalism
• Case Study: Pfälzisch Wine Expert in China

• How suitable is China for growing grapes? –Max D.
• How will the development of Vineyards in China affect the wine market? – Paul S.
• Winery of the World? -- To what extent Urumqi area in China poised to become the giant in wine production? - Dionne
• Viticulture - Industry & Agriculture
• Revolution!
• How did the Agricultural & Industrial Revolutions effect vintners in the Pfalz and abroad? - Thong
• Has pollution impacted viticulture in the Pfalz? - Thomas
• Pesticides
• How are pesticides & herbicides produced? – BASF Case study (David)
• What positive and negative effects do pesticides and herbicides have on vineyards? - Lars
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of biodynamic agriculture? - Fabian
• Fair trade/ Workers’ Rights
• How successful is the Fair Trade organization in reaching their aims when it comes to wine and grape juice? - Daniel
• How and why have vintners organized politically? – Max K.
• Effects of Monoculture
• Why may agricultural monoculture arise and what are the dangers of it? – Max M.
• Other Economic themes
• The price of Wine
• Supply / demand:  How are grapes & wine priced? – Paul B.
• Die Deutsche Weinstraße (20^th Century)
• Why was Neustadt an der Haardt changed to Neustadt an der Weinstraße and what was the effect of this change? - Philipp

MS 4

• How does a vineyard enterprise use land as a factor of production? - Fynn 
• Who are the laborers on vineyards and why do they labor? – Jonas V
• To what extent were the NSDAP campaign promises attractive to farmers and how far did they keep their promises? – Carl-Philipp C.
• What assets do vineyards have? – Jan L. 
• Compare and contrast the ISN Vineyard Budget with other vineyards of varying sizes. – Elizabeth K.
• Entrepeneurship: What kind of talent does it take to run a vineyard? – Adrian L.
• How does a shopkeeper measure demand in his store? – Leonie  
• Advertising: To what extent can demand be created? – Patricia K.
• To what extent is there enough supply to meet demand of grape products? – Becky W. 
• Why have people settled as they have in the Pfalz? – Bettina A. 
• Describe the Population Density of the Pfalz.  – Charlotte 
• Case Study: Wurstmarkt - Moritz
• Case Study: Erlebnistag Deutsche Weinstraße – Dilara B.
• Describe the input process and output (systems diagram) of the ISN Vineyard and various other vineyards. - Sophie
• A marketing strategy for the ISN Vineyard. - Christos