Terroir 1996 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Impact of urbanization on optimum wine Terroirs in the Bordeaux region sample of one township of the Entre-Deux-Mers Area

Impact of urbanization on optimum wine Terroirs in the Bordeaux region sample of one township of the Entre-Deux-Mers Area

Abstract

[English version below]

L’étude présentée porte sur une commune de l’Entre-Deux-Mers dans le bordelais. Nous caractérisons dans un premier temps les potentialités des sols vis-à-vis de la production de vins rouges de qualité (délimitation de terroirs grâce à la prise en compte des couvertures pédologiques et des caractéristiques morphométriques du terrain : pentes, expositions, convexités. Dans un second temps, nous récapitulons l’évolution historique des occupations des sols depuis 1790 : l’emplacement des vignes est ainsi localisé sur les terroirs respectifs des communes. Enfin, une étude prospective résultant d’enquêtes sur l’utilisation du foncier, situe le devenir prévisible de l’espace étudié (en particulier dans ses composantes viticoles et urbaines).
Les résultats mettent en évidence l’influence de la pression d’urbanisation sur la consommation du patrimoine rare et non renouvelable que sont les terroirs viticoles. Les enjeux patrimoniaux collectifs (protection d’un terroir) se manifestent ici en opposition avec des enjeux patrimoniaux individuels : les prix du foncier à bâtir orientent les stratégies des propriétaires fonciers sur de tels terroirs. De plus, l’urbanisation contribue à la disparition d’unités de production lorsqu’elles se trouvent enclavées dans des parcellaires devenus urbains. Les méthodes utilisées dans le cadre de cette étude peuvent constituer la base d’outils d’aménagement pour permettre la préservation d’un patrimoine d’une grande importance économique comme paysagère, que sont les terroirs viticoles. Le patrimoine sol est une composante essentielle à prendre en compte dans un objectif de développement durable : il y a une dimension économique de la filière viti-vinicole, dimension sociale (emplois directs et dérivés : tourisme, culture), dimension environnementale (imperméabilisation des surfaces urbaines, destruction de sols, métamorphose des paysages).

This study was carried out on a township of the Entre-Deux-Mers area in the Bordeaux wine region. We initially focused on soil potentialities as regards high quality red wine production. Criteria such as soil type, slope, aspect (sunlight) and curvatures were taken into account to produce a map of best potential “terroirs”. Secondly, land cover changes were studied from 1790 to the present. Past and present vineyard delimitations were compared with the above mentioned map. At the same time, interviews carried out on wine producers allowed us to foresee changes in land use. The main goal was to assess the evolution of urbanization on optimum wine “terroirs”. Results show that there are losses of those “terroirs” due to urbanization. In this case, collective and individual interests are opposed because in Entre-Deux-Mers, the price of arable land is lower than that of land zoned for building. Some wine producers prefer to sell their land for building purposes. As a result, some vineyards are surrounded by urban areas and are likely to disappear in a short period of time (access for machines is more difficult and pesticide treatments are not easily accepted).  It is important to protect wine growing soils because they constitute a valuable and a nonrenewable resource. They are the basis of the Bordeaux region’s landscapes and many economic (i.e. tourism) and social activities depend directly on their protection.

DOI:

Publication date: February 15, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2002

Type: Article

Authors

P. CHERY (1), X. CHONE (2), A. ARMITAGE-LEE, L. COMMAGNAC (1), M-F. SlAK. (1)

(1) LARGE, ENITA de Bordeaux, BP 201, f-33175 GRADIGNAN cedex
(2) Laboratoire d’Ecophysiologie de la Vigne, ENITA de Bordeaux, BP 201, f33175 GRADIGNAN cedex

Keywords

Terroir viticole, AOC, urbanisation, Entre-Deux-Mers, analyse spatiale
Terroir, urbanization, Bordeaux wine region, spatial analysis

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2002

Citation

Related articles…

‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ (Vitis vinifera L.) berry skin flavonol and anthocyanin composition is affected by trellis systems and applied water amounts

Trellis systems are selected in wine grape vineyards to mainly maximize vineyard yield and maintain berry quality. This study was conducted in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate six commonly utilized trellis systems including a vertical shoot positioning (VSP), two relaxed VSPs (VSP60 and VSP80), a single high wire (SH), a high quadrilateral (HQ), and a guyot (GY), combined with three levels of irrigation regimes based on different crop evapotranspiration (ETc) replacements, including a 25% ETc, 50% ETc, and 100% ETc. The results indicated SH yielded the most fruits and accumulated the most total soluble solids (TSS) at harvest in 2020, however, it showed the lowest TSS in the second season. In 2020, SH and HQ showed higher concentrations in most of the anthocyanin derivatives compared to the VSPs. Similar comparisons were noticed in 2021 as well. SH and HQ also accumulated more flavonols in both years compared to other trellis systems. Overall, this study provides information on the efficacy of trellis systems on grapevine yield and berry flavonoid accumulation in a currently warming climate.

Extreme canopy management for vineyard adaptation to climate change: is it a good idea?

Climate change constitutes an enormous challenge for humankind and for all human activities, viticulture not being an exception. Long-term strategic changes are probably needed the most, but growers also need to deal with short-term changes: summers that are getting progressively warmer, earlier harvest dates and higher pH in musts and wines. In the last 10-15 years, a relevant corpus of research is being developed worldwide in order to evaluate to which extent extreme canopy management operations, aimed at reducing leaf area and, thus, limiting the source to sink ratio, could be useful to delay ripening. Although extreme canopy management can result in relevant delays in harvest dates, longer term studies, as well as detailed analysis of their implications on carbohydrate reserves, bud fertility and future yield are desirable before these practices can be recommended.

Rapid damage assessment and grapevine recovery after fire

There is increasing scientific consensus that climate changeis the underlying cause of the prolonged dry and hot conditions that have increased the risk of extreme fire weather in many countries around the world. In December 2019, a bushfire event occurred in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia where 25,000 hectares were burnt and in vineyards and surrounding areas various degrees of scorching and infrastructure damage occurred. The ability to coordinate and plan recovery after a fire event relies on robust and timely data. The current practice for measuring the scale and distribution of fire damage is to walk or drive the vineyard and score individual vines based on visual observation. The process is time consuming, subjective, or semi-quantitative at best. After the December 2019 fires, it took many months to access properties and estimate the area of vineyard damaged. This study compares the rapid assessment and mapping of fire damage using high-resolution satellite imagery with more traditional ground based measures. Satellite imagery tracking vineyard recovery in the season following the bushfire is being correlated to field assessments of vineyard productivity such as canopy health and development, fertility and carbohydrate storage. Canopy health in the seasons following the fires correlated to the severity of the initial fire damage. Severely damaged vines had reduced canopy growth, were infertile or had very low fertility as well as lower carbohydrate levels in buds and canes during dormancy, which reduced productivity in the seasons following the bushfire event. In contrast, vines that received minor damage were able to recover within 1-2 years. Tools that rapidly and affordably capture the extent and severity of damage over large vineyard area will allow producers, government and industry bodies to manage decisions in relation to fire recovery planning, coordination and delivery, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their response.

Soil, vine, climate change – what is observed – what is expected

To evaluate the current and future impact of climate change on Viticulture requires an integrated view on a complex interacting system within the soil-plant-atmospheric continuum under continuous change. Aside of the globally observed increase in temperature in basically all viticulture regions for at least four decades, we observe several clear trends at the regional level in the ratio of precipitation to potential evapotranspiration. Additionally the recently published 6th assessment report of the IPCC (The physical science basis) shows case-dependent further expected shifts in climate patterns which will have substantial impacts on the way we will conduct viticulture in the decades to come.
Looking beyond climate developments, we observe rising temperatures in the upper soil layers which will have an impact on the distribution of microbial populations, the decay rate of organic matter or the storage capacity for carbon, thus affecting the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the viscosity of water in the soil-plant pathway, altering the transport of water. If the upper soil layers dry out faster due to less rainfall and/or increased evapotranspiration driven by higher temperatures, the spectral reflection properties of bare soil change and the transport of latent heat into the fruiting zone is increased putting a higher temperature load on the fruit. Interactions between micro-organisms in the rhizosphere and the grapevine root system are poorly understood but respond to environmental factors (such as increased soil temperatures) and the plant material (rootstock for instance), respectively the cultivation system (for example bio-organic versus conventional). This adds to an extremely complex system to manage in terms of increased resilience, adaptation to and even mitigation of climate change. Nevertheless, taken as a whole, effects on the individual expressions of wines with a given origin, seem highly likely to become more apparent.

Effects of graft quality on growth and grapevine-water relations

Climate change is challenging viticulture worldwide compromising its sustainability due to warmer temperatures and the increased frequency of extreme events. Grafting Vitis vinifera L.