Terroir 2006 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2006 9 Climate component of terroir (Terroir 2006) 9 Climatic zoning and viticulture in Galicia (North West Spain)

Climatic zoning and viticulture in Galicia (North West Spain)

Abstract

Galicia is situated in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula, just north of Portugal and so sharing a mild, maritime climate, certain vine species and a number of long-standing viticultural traditions. In Galicia about 18,000 has are dedicated to wine growing, of which roughly half (46%) correspond to the 6 DOs in the area. The Galician climate is marked by its great diversity that can be explained by the prevailing maritime and continental winds over this part of the world and also due to its topography where a series of N to S mountainous chains check rain-bearing fronts from the Atlantic. This factor gives rise to the appearance of rain shadows particularly suitable for vine growing. A database was established with standardised 1971-2000 climatic data from 53 selected stations. Fourteen parameters and climatic indices commonly used in viticulture zoning studies were calculated. An analysis of principal components identified the main factors related to climatic variability as well as the climatic indices and parameters with major discriminating scores. These indices included those selected by the Geoviticulture Multicriteria Climatic Classification System (GMCCS). Results show that 13 out of the 36 worldwide viticulture climates specified by the GMCCS appear in Galicia confirming the diversity of viticultural climates present in the region. These results also demonstrate the efficacy of the GCCM system for the differentiation of climatic types on a regional level reinforcing the system’s versatility.

DOI:

Publication date: January 12, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2006

Type: Article

Authors

José QUEIJEIRO, Daniel BLANCO and Cristalina ÁLVAREZ

Plant Biology and Soil Science Department, Vigo University, Spain.
Facultade de Ciencias de Ourense, As Lagoas s/n. 32004 Ourense, España

Contact the author

Keywords

mesoclimate, vine, Galicia, zonification

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2006

Citation

Related articles…

The affinity of white wine proteins for bentonite is dependent on wine composition and is directly related to their thermal stability / sensitivity

Bentonite fining is commonly used in oenology to remove all or parts of white wine proteins, which are known to be involved in haze formation. This fining is effective, but has disadvantages: it is not selective, thus molecules responsible for aroma are also removed, it causes substantial volume losses, and finally it generates wastes. Over the last decades, the knowledge of wine proteins has increased: they have been identified, their structures are known, some of them have been crystallized.

THE ODORIFEROUS VOLATILE CHEMICALS BEHIND THE OXIDATIVE AROMA DEGRADATION OF SPANISH RED WINES

It is a well-established fact that premature oxidation is noxious for wine aromatic quality and longevity. Although some oxidation-related aroma molecules have been previously identified, there are not works carrying out systematic research about the changes in the profiles of odour-active volatiles during wine oxidation.

Produce wines with no quantifiable phytosanitary residues – Impact of washing grapes?

Consumer expectations are increasingly shifting towards “residue-free wines.” However, from an analytical standpoint, “zero” does not exist. Laboratories often use the quantification limits of analysis methods to signify ‘zero.’ Improved techniques now allow for the quantification of levels that were previously undetectable. This is why we prefer to use the term “unquantifiable residue” rather than “absence of residues.”

Can soil water content be used as a predictor of predawn leaf water potential for deficit irrigation scheduling? A case study at Alentejo wine region

Water and heat stress impose new challenges to irrigation management in the Mediterranean areas. This reality has a major impact on the vineyard ecosystem, particularly on the scarce water resources of the Alentejo region (South Portugal). To mitigate this problem, irrigation management should focus on optimizing yield and fruit quality per volume of water applied. This work aims to discuss the use of predawn leaf water potential and soil water status relationships as a decision tool for irrigation management taking as basis data from a field trial where two deficit irrigation strategies were compared.

Denial of the wine-growing landscape

The aim of this presentation is to analysis the impact of the viticultural landscape in communication on labels of wine produced in heroic viticulture areas. To verify whether the ”viticultural landscape