The Scientific Method in the Vineyard

Philipp collecting soil samples from his terrace.

Testing the soil

Amogha Shanabag and James MacDonald work together to test soil samples for their pH level.  James is researching the qualities that should be present in the soil of a vineyard and testing out to what extent our vineyard's soil fulfills these requirements. 

His research along with others will be presented the last week of school.  So come and see the results. 




James collects a soil sample from an MS 1 terrace.


Scientific Themes to be developed

• Insects and Grapes
• Animal and Bird Pests
• Propagation
• Grape Species
• Breeding Grapes

Contact either Tyler or Amogha if you are interested in the scientific side of the ISN Vineyard Project.

Protecting our Vines

With help from viticulturalist Steffen Christmann, we sprayed an organic mixture on the leaves of our grape vines in order to deter pests. 


Unlike many vineyards we take an organic approach to tending to our vines.  We aim to promote a healthy balance between our natural surroundings and our goals of production.

Hitting the Slopes

Why should grapes be grown on a slope?

- Viktor Kronstedt (MS 1) is detailing the reasons for this in his work! So ask him about!

- Did you know that the Ancient Greeks had figured this out? Find out more from Anna Schwarzenbach (MS 1)!

 





Franziska records the data (Rise & Run) for our record.

How can we measure slope?
- Franziska Ditzer (MS 1) is detailing the steps she used along with her partners Divya Das and Annabelle Hermann to measure the slope of our terraces. In short, the girls used a plank of wood, a leveler, and a tape measure to find the "Rise" (the vertical interval, or the distance the wooden plank is from the ground once it is completely level) and the "Run" (the horizontal interval or the length of the wooden plank). The formula to find out the grade of the slope is as follows :

Rise  x 100 =  grade of the Slope (%)

Run

Keep this for formula & technique in mind for the next ski trip when you want to brag about the grade of slope you went down!

Vitography: A Vineyard Themed Photography Competition

 'Vitography' is a play on words which combines viticulture (growing of grapes) and photography.

A panoramic view from the ISN Vineyard

Courtesy of Jeremy Carter, ISN CAS Coordinator & leader of the ISN Photography Club

What are we looking for?

- Theme - Capturing the spirit and potential of the ISN Vineyard.

• See the ISN Vineyard Project Mission Statement.

- Criteria

• Composition of photograph
• Photographic Technical skills
• Must be a photograph of the ISN Vineyard

- Submission deadline - September 13th


What does the winner get?

1st place
- Will be on the COVER of an upcoming 2014 ISN Vineyard Calendar which follows the progression of our project over time.
- Their work will be published in our ISN Vineyard Book which will be published next school year.
- Your work will be prominently displayed in ISN recognizing your accomplishment.
- € 30 itunes voucher.

2nd place
- Will be in an upcoming 2014 ISN Vineyard Calendar which follows the progression of our project over time.
- Their work published in our ISN Vineyard Book which will be published next school year.
- Your work will be prominently displayed in ISN recognizing your accomplishment.
- € 10 itunes voucher.

3rd place
- Will be in an upcoming 2014 ISN Vineyard Calendar which follows the progression of our project over time.
- Their work published in our ISN Vineyard Book which will be published next school year.
- Your work will be prominently displayed in ISN recognizing your accomplishment.
- € 5 itunes voucher.

Contact Jeremy or Tyler if you are interested!

Time to declutter our space!

LPs clearing space

In order for our efforts to be fruitful we need to organize our terraces and get rid of what we do not need.  This is something that each and everyone of us should take to heart with the final exams coming up in a few weeks.  In other words, start getting organized and revising for your exams!

David helps out on a neighbor's terrace after finishing pruning his own.



Dionne and Bettina chose to come up to the Vineyard during one of their Sports lessons
in order to get their terraces cleared of weeds prior to the upcoming growing season. 

Mentor Terrace

Mentors lead by example!


Over the Easter holiday Amogha, Manoj, Aileen & Tyler work on the Mentor Terrace.  Together they were able to uproot enough weeds on their terrace to make 6 large piles.  They estimate that the sum of the weed root systems must have been about twice as large as the root systems of our vines! 


Not anymore though!  The tables have turned and the vines now have the upper hand in the stuggle for nutrients in our soil.  The weeds will be used as compost which will replenish our soil with nutrients thus aiding our vines!

  

The Mentors use their terrace as a model for what is

to be done next on the terraces of our Learning Partners.

 

(Above) An example of vines that are surrounded by weeds which are inhibit the vines from gaining what they need from the soil. (Below) Here is an example of rows of vines which have been weeds have been cleared away by their roots.  This will help keep weeds from reappearing as quickly as they would if one simply cut them.

 

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