École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques

Second year Master students with Richard Smart

World-renowed consultant Richard Smart made a stop by Bordeaux this winter to teach the students the fundamentals of viticulture practices and the particular differences in their application worldwide.

Wrapping up a week of classes with the ’Flying Vine Doctor’ Richard Smart and 2nd year Master students.

The MBS in Vineyard and Winery Management is full of enriching experiences and mentorship. During the winter, world-renowned consultant Richard Smart made a stop by Bordeaux to teach the students the fundamentals of viticulture practices and the particular differences in their application worldwide.

Dr. Smart provided an interesting lesson for the students through demonstrating that if you want to be at the top of the field you are always a student to new techniques and findings, throughout the scientific and practical world of wine. He methodically disproved many myths and legends regarding viticulture and evolved the students’ understanding of how viticulture has progressed and evolved over the years.

These experiences are helping students by putting them in contact with consultants who have decades of experience and can place theory learned in the classes to real world situations. It is important to learn how to apply the theories learned in class and learn how to deal with professionals.

The week was primarily spent learning how to conduct climate research, control and optimize vine vigor, correctly monitor and address problems related to common vine disease around the world and to take some trips out to the vineyard.

The MBS 2 course with Richard Smart ends with a canopy management lesson graciously hosted by INRA’s Château Couhins in Pessac.

Richard and the students also took to the field to begin examining one of vineyards most pressing issue, trunk disease. Out in the field students were taught how to spot and treat this problem, which plagues the many viticultural regions around the world.
Following each visit Richard gave small lectures based on his experience with each problem in the vineyard. This experience was consistently noted as “once in a lifetime”, however, Richard is planning on coming back next year and continue to grace the MBS students with his knowledge and experience in the field.

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