Using climate services to project grapevine varietal adequation under climate change – application to cv. Tempranillo in the Douro wine region
Abstract
Vine growth circumstances are becoming warmer and drier because of climate change. Higher temperatures advance ripening to a point in the season less conducive to the production of fine wine, while drought reduces yields (Van Leeuwen et al., 2019). Several wine-producing regions around the world have already recognized threats to their viticultural viability (Santos et al., 2020). An economical and cost-effective strategy for adaptation is the employment of late-ripening, drought-resistant plant material (varieties, clones, and rootstocks). Ancient varieties’ wide genetic pool becomes a significant resource for the production of premium wines with sustainable yields. An end-to-end wine pilot climate service has been developed in the MED-GOLD project. The MED-GOLD wine climate service offered data at various time scales addressing specific concerns of the wine industry, e.g., suitability of varieties for future climates (Dell’Aquila et al., 2023). In this work, we use the MED-GOLD climate service to evaluate the future suitability of cv. Tinta Roriz (syn. Tempranillo) for the Douro wine region of Portugal. Comparison of high-resolution (1 km2) maps of areas with adequate growing season average temperature between the past and two periods until the end of the century, shows that variety is becoming unsuitable for quality wine in more than 90% of the present-day wine region area. The same approach can be used to identify which varieties show better adaptive profile and inform farmers’ choices for the future.
Acknowledgements: the MED-GOLD project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant agreement No.776467.
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DOI:
Issue: ICGWS 2023
Type: Article
Authors
1SOGRAPE, Rua 5 de outubro 4527, 4430-809 Avintes, Portugal