Independent non-profit association · Monaco
/FR/IT
ERA crest ERA Vine · Wine · Climate Research
/FR/IT
Demo article — placeholder content, shown to illustrate the format. Real publications will replace it.
ERA/Blog/Education
Education

A grower's short glossary of climate terms

Phenology, water stress, canopy management — a plain-language guide to the terms that keep appearing in conversations about vineyards and climate.

A grower's short glossary of climate terms
22 May 2026 · Education

Climate research has its own vocabulary, and it is easy to get lost. This short glossary explains, in plain language, the terms a grower is most likely to meet.

The essentials

  • Phenology — the timing of the vine's life stages: budbreak, flowering, veraison, harvest. Climate change shows up first as shifts in this calendar.
  • Water stress — what a vine experiences when the soil cannot supply the water it loses through its leaves. Mild stress can improve quality; severe stress damages the crop.
  • Canopy management — how the leaves and shoots are arranged and trimmed. One of the cheapest tools a grower has to protect fruit from heat and sunburn.
  • Veraison — the moment grapes change color and begin to ripen. Its date is a sensitive indicator of the season's heat.

Why plain language matters

Research only helps a vineyard when the people farming it can use it. Translating science into practice is the core of ERA's educational work — free sessions and material written for growers, not for journals.

← All articles