TCA – A status report on South African cork closures

Global warming is one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats in several viticultural regions. In the Douro Valley, changes are expected in the coming years, namely an increase in temperature and a decrease in precipitation. These changes are likely to have consequences for the production and quality of wine.
The aim of this study was to explore the effects of different soil characteristics combined with several deficit irrigation strategies, managed throughout ETc references and predawn leaf water potentials thresholds, on physiology, yield, and qualitative attributes on the Touriga Nacional variety under years of mild to severe water and heat stress.
The studies were conducted over seven years (2015 to 2021) in two plots of a commercial vineyard located at Quinta do Ataíde (Symington Family Estates) planted in 2011 and 2014 at 170 meters elevation, growing under three water regimes: non-irrigated (NI) and two deficit irrigation strategies (30% and 60% ETc) assessed weekly by Ψpd. The site has an annual rainfall below 500 mm, with high atmospheric demand. Climate data was collected from a weather station, located on site. Berry ripening was followed weekly for fruit analysis. At harvest, yield, vigour and pruning weight per vine were determined from 90 vines by treatment. Each season at veraison the NDVI Index was accessed by a drone. The soils physic-chemistry in the experimental blocs were analysed and grouped by SWHC. Delta C-13 analyses were also performed per treatment in two years.Irrigation had a positive effect on yield per vine, mostly due to an increase in berry and cluster weight, and fertility index through the years. A significant increase in sugar content, colour and phenols was observed with deficit irrigation in some years, but vine vigour related to soil characteristics had by far the greatest impact on quality.

Context and purpose of the study ‐ Vine balance is a concept describing the relationship between carbon assimilation (usually estimated using a measure of vine vigour, e.g. pruning weight) and its utilisation for fruit production (usually estimated using harvest yield). Manipulating vine balance through leaf area or crop load adjustments affects the proportion of the vine’s total carbohydrate production required to mature the fruit. It is commonly considered that composition of the berry, and resulting wine, is strongly affected by vine balance.

Water availability is the most limiting factor for vineyard productivity under Mediterranean conditions. Due to the effects caused by the current climate change, wine-growing regions may face serious soil moisture conservation problems, due to the lower water retention capacity of the soil and higher soil irradiation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil recharge irrigation in pre-sprouting and summer irrigation every week (30 % ETo) from the pea size state until the end of ripening (RP) compared to exclusively summer irrigation every week (R) in the same way that RP, on berry phenolic composition at harvest.

Eleven wine-growing sites are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Cultural Landscapes. If the viticultural character of these sites constitutes the main argument for the demonstration of their heritage value, the terroir and its biophysical and environmental characteristics tend however to appear in a minor mode compared to the aesthetic and cultural dimensions. In other words, the “specific characteristics of the soil, topography, climate, landscape and biodiversity” (OIV definition) are most often used as descriptive elements in the presentation of the sites, but it is more the aesthetic, historical,

Sun exposure is needed for balanced grape ripening and sugar accumulation but is also one of the main drivers for a premature Riesling ageing