What Is a Vine Dresser?
Vinedresser is a phrase that technically relates to an occupation in the grape cultivation and wine-making industry, but which is also used in the Christian religion as a metaphor. A vine dresser cares for the grape vines in a vineyard. It's their responsibility to cultivate and prune the vines
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Etymology
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The term entered the English language in 1560. Its base word, "vine," is derived from the Hebrew word "yayin," meaning wine.
Significance
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The vine dresser is integral to the wine-making process. He stays with his vines for decades, usually a lifetime, and knows each vine individual needs and works to provide for them.
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Employment
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Vine dressers are employed by vineyards. Though there are small vineyards all over the world, they are largely concentrated in wine making areas of Italy, France and California.
Religion
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In the Christian religion there is a direct reference to the vine dresser in the Bible (John, Chapter 15). Here, Christ draws a parallel between himself and a vine dresser. Just as the vine dresser cares for the vine, Christ cares for the Christians in his kingdom.
Responsibilities
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The duties of the vine dresser have changed and evolved over the years as new technologies and techniques have been developed. Today, reponsibilities include the weekly monitoring of grapes (water status and health), weekly pest and disease monitoring, crop estimations, monitoring nutrition and fertilization of the vines, and harvest coordination.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit vineyard image by Brett Bouwer from Fotolia.com
