Simulating climate change impact on viticultural systems in historical and emergent vineyards

In response to changes in their environment, grapevines regulate transpiration using various physiological mechanisms that alter conductance of water through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Expressed as bulk stomatal conductance at the canopy scale, it varies diurnally in response to changes in vapor pressure deficit and net radiation, and over the season to changes in soil water deficits and hydraulic conductivity of both soil and plant. It is necessary to characterize the response of conductance to these variables to better model how vine transpiration also responds to these variables. Furthermore, to be relevant for vineyard-scale modeling, conductance is best characterized using data collected in a vineyard setting. Applying a crop canopy energy flux model developed by Shuttleworth and Wallace, bulk stomatal conductance was estimated using measurements of individual vine sap flow, temperature and humidity within the vine canopy, and estimates of net radiation absorbed by the vine canopy. These measurements were taken on several vines in a non-irrigated vineyard in Bordeaux France, using equipment that did not interfere with ongoing vineyard operations. An inverted Penman-Monteith equation was then used to calculate bulk stomatal conductance on 15-minute intervals from July to mid-September 2020. Time-series plots show significant diurnal variation and seasonal decreases in conductance, with overall values similar to those in the literature. Global sensitivity analysis using non-parametric regression found transpiration flux and vapor pressure deficit to be the most important input variables to the calculation of bulk stomatal conductance, with absorbed net radiation and bulk boundary layer conductance being much less important. Conversely, bulk stomatal conductance was one of the most important inputs when calculating vine transpiration, further emphasizing the need for characterizing its response to environmental changes for use in vineyard water use modeling.

The persistence of effervescence and foam collar during a Champagne or sparkling wine tasting constitute one, among others, specific consumer preference for these products. Many different factors related to the product or to the tasting conditions might influence their behavior in the glass

The european union has estimated that energy consumption for wine production is about 1,750 million kwh per year, of which 500 million kwh is attributable to italy. In recent years, Italy has emerged as the world’s leading wine producer with about 50 million hectoliters per year. About 20 percent (9.8 million hectoliters) of Italian wine is marketed after refermentation according to the Charmat-Martinotti method.

In Washington State, the majority of winegrape (Vitis vinifera) vineyards are planted to their own roots. This practice is possible due to the lack of established phylloxera populations, and is preferred due to the ease of retraining after damaging winter cold events. However, own-rooted V. vinifera is generally susceptible to most plant parasitic nematodes that attack grape. In Washington State, management of nematodes is dominated by preplant soil fumigation. One practice that may mitigate economic loss due to nematodes is the adoption of nematode-“resistant” rootstocks.

Viticulture and grapevine breeding programs have to face and adapt to the rapidly changing growing conditions due to the ongoing climate change, the scarcity of resources and the demand for sustainability within the whole value chain of wine production. In times of highly effective and cost-efficient genotyping technologies routinely applied in plant research and breeding, the need for comparable high-speed and high-resolution phenotyping tools has increased substantially. The disciplines of grapevine research, breeding and precision viticulture picked up this demand – mostly independent from each other – by the development, validation and establishment of different sensor technologies in order to extend management strategies or to transform labor-intensive and expensive phenotyping.