terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences 9 2ICGWS-2023 9 Evaluation of terroir suitability for vine cultivation in new areas using geographic multi-criteria decision support

Evaluation of terroir suitability for vine cultivation in new areas using geographic multi-criteria decision support

Abstract

Based on historical vine cultivation, the recent development of wine production in Drama wine region (Greece) has led to vine cultivation expansion of white and red varieties. The current cultivation of 500 ha of vineyards is expected to increase in the coming years. Natural terroir units (NTU) have been designed recently to support the production of high quality wines in the region [1]. The aim of this work is to evaluate the relevancy of the proposed NTUs regarding their suitability to produce wines of specific sensorial identity, and to provide guidelines for correct site selection for the expanding wine industry of the region. The FAO Framework for Land Suitability Analysis was adapted to cover the main categories of input data: soil, climate, topography and other environmental properties [2]. The weights of each input data category have been developed with Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) based on interviews with the viticulturalists of the main wine producers. The geographic analysis was performed using the Agricultural Land Use Evaluation System (ALUES), which is based on the open-source statistical software R. The results reveal that the majority of the agricultural area is marginally to adequately suitable for the main white vine varieties currently cultivated, namely cv. Sauvignon blanc, with the exception of the cooler areas. On the contrary, red varieties (notably cv Cabernet Sauvignon) were  found to be more suitable to occupy the central part of the wine producing area. Nevertheless, it is possible to allocate white varieties to a wider range of sites with the adaptation of viticultural management.

Acknowledgements: The work presented is cofinanced by the ERDF and Greek national funds.

References:

1)  Karapetsas, N. et al, (2023). Delineating Natural Terroir Units in Wine Regions Using Geoinformatics. Agriculture, 13, 629, DOI:10.3390/agriculture13030629

2)  Bilas, G. et al., (2022). Land Suitability Analysis as a Tool for Evaluating Soil-Improving Cropping Systems. Land, 11, 2200, DOI:10.3390/land11122200

DOI:

Publication date: October 5, 2023

Issue: ICGWS 2023

Type: Article

Authors

Thomas Alexandridis1*, Nikolaos Karapetsas1, George Bilas1, Sefafeim Theocharis2, Stefanos Koundouras2

1 Laboratory of Remote Sensing, Spectroscopy and Geographical Information Systems, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
2 Laboratory of Viticulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece

Contact the author*

Keywords

DSS, land suitability analysis, geographic information systems

Tags

2ICGWS | ICGWS | ICGWS 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Effect of irrigation in cover cropping vineyards

Cover cropping in vineyard is a sustainable and alternative soil management system to conventional tillage that is gaining more and more importance among winegrowers and is being promoted, among other organizations, by the European Union through the eco-schemes of the Common Agricultural Policy.
However, the use of cover crops in Mediterranean viticultural environments is conditioned, to a large extent, by the availability of irrigation water which, in a context of global warming like the one we are experiencing, must be adjusted to savings strategies, supplying to the vine only what it needs in each moment.

Impact of climate on berry weight dynamics of a wide range of Vitis vinifera cultivars 

In order to study the impact of climate change on Bordeaux grape varieties and to assess the behavior of candidate grape varieties potentially better adapted to the new climatic conditions, an experimental vineyard composed of 52 grape varieties was planted in 2009 at the INRAE Bordeaux Aquitaine center[1]. Among the many parameters studied since 2012, berry weight for each variety was measured weekly from mid-veraison to maturity, with four independent replicates. The kinetics obtained allowed to study berry growth, a key parameter in grape composition and yield.

Sparkling wines and atypical aging: investigating the risk of refermentation

Sparkling wine (SW) production entails a two-steps process where grape must undergoes a primary fermentation to produce a base wine (BW) which is then refermented to become a SW. This process allows for the development of a new physicochemical profile characterized by the presence of foam and a different organoleptic profile.

Development of a new method for detecting acetic acid bacteria in wine

The presence of acetic acid bacteria in wine can lead to the appearance of acetic acid at concentrations above the perception threshold, causing the wine rejection by the consumer. During the winemaking process, avoiding the presence of acetic acid bacteria is very difficult, as there is always a residual population accompanying the wine[1], and the problem arises with the significant development of these microorganisms that metabolizes large amounts of acetic acid.
The concern of wineries to control the presence of acetic acid bacteria in wines during their conservation is due to the absence of simple and effective analyses that allow the detection of these microorganisms in the initial stages.

Acceptability of canned wines: effect of the level of involvement of consumers and type of wine

In recent years there has been a growing demand for alternative packaging designs in the food industry focused on diminishing the carbon footprint. Despite the environmental advantages of cans versus bottles, the traditional environment of wine has hindered the establishment of less contaminant containers. In this context, the objective of this study was to understand and generate knowledge about consumers´ perception of canned wines in comparison to bottled wines.