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The presentation comprised first results of the evaluation of a sampling of earthworm populations at 8 sites of vine growing farms in Palatinate, Rheinhessen, Baden and at the Mosel river. The sites had been selected to cover criteria like the range of total copper contents and soil properties in the upper soil layer (0-20 cm), and practical aspects of sampling. Total abundance revealed to be a rather insensitive parameter at lower or medium copper loads. The relative distribution of abundance to life-forms and especially species diversity were much more sensitive parameters.

This article analyzes the viniculture and viticulture in the Czech Republic from the perspective of industry and predicts the outlook of Czech viniculture and viticulture until 2020. The first part of the article defines the methods and procedures of calculation and SWOT analysis. The contribution using the method of reliability bands predicts consumption of grapes per capita per year and further predicts sugar content in grapes during harvest in future years. Sugar content of grapes has been chosen as the indicator of quality of grapes and indicator of the level of wine growing systems. Based on an evaluation of the current state of viniculture and viticulture in the Czech Republic and results of statistical calculations it recommends in well-arranged way the basic directions of development of viniculture and viticulture. If the development does not deviate too much from statistically estimated parameters, it can be expected that viniculture and viticulture will develop successfully in the conditions existing in the Czech Republic as predicted by the article.

The area of vineyards has increased to 19 261.5 hectares and the number of wine producers to 18.292 by 1 May 2004. This branch needs a long-term study that will lead to the establishment of the new politics for viniculture and wine-growing, related to the needs of the region. The trends are compared to the main European producer - France, and another country from the so called "New World"- the South African Republic. The researches are focused on the consumption of wine by population, share in the gross national product, employment in this branch, areas of vineyards, and number of wine-growers.

In Mendoza, the Uco Valley was chosen by big entrepreneurs for setting up viticulture fields, irrigated with groundwater. With the approval of the provincial State to fight against desertification, the appearance of these entrepreneurs changes areas traditionally irrigated with surface waters. We analyze the provincial hydric policies, the modification of the agrarian structure, and how local producers are going through this process. We conclude that there is an alienation process of water, earth, and production that, nevertheless, is publicized by the State as the triumph of men over the advancement of desert and the lack of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many French wines, and now other kinds of agricultural products, manifest the process of“patrimonialization” as a counterforce to the homogenizing trends in the globalization of world food systems. The appellation contrôlée (AOC) concept, which dates from 1935, is the oldest expression of that patrimonial process. In it, the characteristics of a place—theterroir—are used to gloss its legally protected, territorial definition on which hinge claims to a place-based product authenticity and, by extension, quality. AOC implementation, now with almost seven decades of experience in France, serves as the model to understand how the application of terroir to place has focused on land-use practice, wine definition, vinicultural tradition, and landscape preservation. A complementary process at work is product salience that establishes its individuality in an interactive expectation between producer and consumer. Fieldwork in the commune of Cassis (Department of Bouches-du-Rhône) in the South of France sorted the set of historical, environmental, and economic conditions to reveal the actual functioning of these two processes at a local level. Appellation Cassis contrôlée, the third oldest and one of the smallest AOC in French viniculture, comprises 180 ha of vineyards and fourteen wine growers. In this case, establishment of product authenticity has been a continuous process. Wine types have evolved in spite of the absence of real innovation; political territory has been used to define terroir; the discourse of quality depends heavily on the historic past; vineyards have acquired a community value beyond any productivity; and producers have defined and defended their territory to boost its prestige to themselves and their consumers. The key entity in the appellation is the lower winegrowers syndicate. Presumptive statements, promotional rhetoric, consumer desire, and the politics of local decision making have shaped this wine region far beyond its environmental associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]