Debunking viticulture

This is something more people need to read about:

Busting Vineyard Myths :Researchers find some practices may be based on folklore

The first quote we see is from Michael Anderson of UCD, to wit:

"I'm frustrated by viticultural practices based on folklore instead of research."

Amen, Brother!
It doesn't get much more concise & precise than that...

Could it be that after all these years, the public at large might finally be exposed to the dirty secret behind quite a bit of the "standard" viticultural dogma: it's based on superstition and "tradition"...and is incorrect.
Covered are topics such as crop load and dropping fruit, vertical fruit positioning, and deficit irrigation.
Research and science are the heroic tools to help us set ourselves straight!

Arm yourselves with knowledge, people!

******
Compare the tone of the above article to the following one which touts the "wonders" of the Farmer's Almanac weather forecasting:
Farmer's Almanac out with it's 2008 forecast (MSNBC)

The best tidbits are:
"The forecasts are prepared two years in advance by the almanac's reclusive prognosticator, who goes by the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee and uses a formula based on sunspots, the position of the planets and the tidal action of the moon."
...and...
"Last year’s almanac forecast of a colder than normal winter was off the mark at first. Geiger blamed an unforeseen El Nino that made for quiet conditions in the East before a series of heavy snowstorms struck in February and March. Even so, the almanac claims an overall 80 to 85 percent accuracy rate..."

Really? Don't get me started on the astrology components...
I wonder who double-checked their accuracy?
And it's so nice that they can just ignore the fact they couldn't predict the El Niño effect using Jupiter's celestial positioning system...sounds a lot like a Republican/GOP funded science program...

I think I'll stick with NOAA for my weather forecasts, thank you.