After taking a brief detour last week, we’re jumping back into our “Composition of Wine” series to talk about mineral elements. There are three important mineral elements in the Earth that are essential for overall grape vine growth: potassium, calcium, and iron.
Potassium actually makes up 1 to 3 percent of a vine’s dry weight, and it ultimately dictates a wine’s pH. Since all wines need some amount of acidity, potassium is often regarded as one of the most important elements in correlation with wine quality. Calcium functions as a guardian of sorts, strengthening the grape vine’s cell walls and aiding its resistance to microbial attacks like powdery mildew and gray rot. Iron, to round out the big three, plays a crucial role in the production of chlorophyll, which helps vines grow.
On this episode of “Wine 101,” Keith explores these mineral elements and gets into the finer details of how each one impacts grape-vine growth and wine quality. Tune in for more.
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“Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big old shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also, Darby Cicci for the theme song. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.
*Image retrieved from Sylvain Brison via Unsplash
