GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 GiESCO 2019 9 Late leaf removal does not consistently delay ripeningin semillon in Australia

Late leaf removal does not consistently delay ripeningin semillon in Australia

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study ‐ An advancement of grapevine phenological development has been observed worldwide in the last two decades. In South Australia this phenomenon is even more accentuated since grapevine is often grown in a hot climate. The main consequences are earlier harvests at higher sugar levels which also result in more alcoholic wines. These are deemed undesirable for the Australian wine industry with consumer preferences shifting towards lower alcohol wines. Vineyard practices can be implemented to control and delay ripening. Amongst them, apical late leaf removal has been successfully applied in Europe to delay ripening by up to two weeks in Sangiovese, Aglianico and Riesling. In those studies, no negative effects were observed on grape colour, phenolics and on the carbohydrate storage capacity of the vines. To date, this technique has not been studied in Australia. In this study late leaf removal, apical to the bunch zone was applied to the variety Semillon for four seasons and compared to an untreated control.

Material and methods ‐ The study was carried out for four consecutive seasons starting in 2015 in the variety Semillon at the Waite Campus, University of Adelaide, Australia. Yield, yield components and berry chemistry (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH and total phenolics) were all assessed during the study.


Results
‐ Results showed that despite the removal of up to 30% of the vine’s canopy, the technique was effective in delaying ripening only in one of the four seasons. No differences were observed in yield components and berry and wine chemistry between the treated and untreated vines. These results suggest that the technique might not be a feasible strategy to delay ripening in Semillon grown in a hot climate in Australia.

DOI:

Publication date: June 19, 2020

Issue: GIESCO 2019

Type: Article

Authors

Roberta DE BEI (1), Xiaoyi WANG (1), Lukas PAPAGIANNIS (1), Massimiliano COCCO (1,3), Patrick O’BRIEN (1), Marco ZITO (1,4), Jingyun OUYANG (1), Sigfredo FUENTES (5), Matthew GILLIHAM (1,2), Steve TYERMAN (1,2) and Cassandra COLLINS (1)

(1) The University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, PMB 1 Glen Osmond, 5064, South Australia. Australia
(2) ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Waite Research Institute, PMB 1 Glen Osmond, 5064, South Australia, Australia
(3) The University of Sassari, Department of Agriculture, Viale Italia 39, 07100, Sassari, Italy
(4) Istituto di Scienze della Vita, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza dei Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
(5) The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. Parkville, 3010. Victoria, Australia

Contact the author

Keywords

Leaf removal, delayed ripening, canopy management, leaf area, Semillon

Tags

GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

From a local to an international scale: sensory benchmarking of PDO wines. Quincy and Reuilly PDO wines (Sauvignon blanc) as a case study (France)

In a collective marketing strategy, the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) can be used as a quality indicator. To highlight terroir specificities, it is useful to know how the wines are positioned on the local, national or international market from a sensory point of view. This is especially true for a comparison of varietal wines (e.g. Sauvignon blanc). We focus on the case of two closed Loire Valley PDO (France): Quincy and Reuilly. Three distinct tastings were organized. Firstly, at the local level comparing the 2 PDO (11 and 9 wines, 17 professional assessors); secondly at a regional level adding 3 closed PDO: Menetou-Salon, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé (3 wines per PDO, 16 assessors) and thirdly at an international level comparing these 5 PDO with Sauvignon Blanc wines coming from South Africa, New Zealand and Chile (1 to 3 wines per PDO, 19 assessors). All the wines were from the 2019 vintage and were considered to have a traditional elaboration process without contact with oak. A sensory descriptive analysis was performed using an aroma wheel allowing to combine a Check-All-That-Apply methodology, often used in sensory benchmarking, with a hierarchical structuration of the attributes. The aim is to facilitate data acquisition in a professional context without common training, to consider the hierarchical relationships among the attributes during the data analysis and to be able to characterize wines with a large range of sensorial variability. We use univariate, multivariate and clustering analyses. Similarities and differences between Quincy and Reuilly PDO wines and other Sauvignon blanc wines were identified. Specific attributes can distinguish the two PDO and different proximities exist with other local PDO, while clear differences were observed compared to international wines. Our study contributes to propose and discuss a method to do a wine sensory benchmarking highlighting sensory specificities linked to origin.

Grape phylloxera meets drought: increased risk for vines under climate change?

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of drought periods leading to significant impacts on agro‐economic activities

Vignobles sur les pentes en Bourgogne : l’aube d’un nouveau modèle de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge

La découverte d’une vigne gallo-romaine en plaine à Gevrey-Chambertin (Côte-d’Or) constitue un point important pour la compréhension de la construction des terroirs viticoles de Bourgogne. Sa situation en plaine constitue pour nous le point de départ d’une large réflexion sur la mise en place du modèle de viticulture de coteau qui prévaut en Bourgogne et sur les facteurs de ce changement de norme de qualité viticole. Les sources mobilisées pour cette approche interdisciplinaire et diachronique sont géomorphologiques, archéologiques et textuelles.

Paysages viticoles et terroir dans l’OAC Ribeira Sacra (Galice, NO de l’Espagne)

The concept of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) is based on the existence of a link between the characteristics of the terroir and the quality and typicality of the production (DELAS, 2000). If for a long time, this link only appeared as the fruit of empiricism, the research undertaken recently has made it possible to scientifically establish the complex relationships between the functioning of natural environments and the ability to produce quality.

Il Lambrusco reggiano e il territorio di pianura: un modello efficace

Il caso “Lambrusco” è emblematico di un buon connubio tra un gruppo di vitigni ed un territorio di pianura caratterizzato da suoli fertili e alluvionali, che determinano un elevato sviluppo