The key role of vineyard parcel in modifying flavor compounds of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes

Climate change is disrupting grape ripening kinetics, causing a critical decoupling between technological and phenolic maturity in Vitis vinifera L.

Aging on lees (AOL) has been used for wine aging for a long time, thanks to its ability to modify wine composition, improving sensory characteristics and stability. However, the prolonged contact with fermentation lees may increase the risk of developing sensory defects, due to the growth of unwanted microorganisms. Furthermore, AOL requires a large amount of work to manage bâtonnage and for topping up the barrels, significantly increasing production costs.

Drought can impact grapevine physiology, yield, berry composition and wine quality, as extensively demonstrated in controlled experiments (Flor et al., 2025; Hewitt et al., 2023).

homogeneous zones by intersecting several partial zonings of major factors that influence vineyard growth. Each of them follows specific process from their corresponding disciplines. Soil zoning specifically refers to a Soil Resource Inventory map that has traditionally been generated by conventional soil mapping methods. These methods have shortcomings in reaching fine cartographic and categorical details and involve significant expenses, which undermines their applicability. A new framework named Digital Soil Mapping has introduced quantitative models by statistical techniques to establish soil-landscape relationships and is able to provide intensive scale cartography.

In the present study, a microzoning at 1:10.000 scale is generated from an initial zoning, where the conventional soil map with polytaxic map units is replaced by a new one from digital techniques that disaggregates them. The comparison between the zonings considers a quantitative evaluation of capability for each Homogeneous Terroir Unit by means of the Viticultural Quality Index and its categorization based on its distribution by map. The spatial intersection of both maps gives rise to a confusion matrix in which the flows of class variations after the substitution are assessed.

The results show a five-fold increase in the number of Homogeneous Terroir Units identified and a larger differentiation among them, evidenced by a wider range in the capability index distribution. Both elements are accompanied by an increase in the detection of areas of higher potential within previously undervalued uniform zones.These features are a direct effect of the improvements brought by Digital Soil Mapping techniques and would verify the advantages of their implementation in the Integrated Terroir zoning. Eventually, such new highly detailed terroir units would benefit precision viticulture and sustainable management practices.

The region with Origin Indication Vale dos Vinhedos (IPVV) is located in the cities of Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi and Monte Belo do Sul. It was established in November 2002, through an act of Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial, according to Resolução INPI Nº. 75, of 2000, and Law Nº. 9.279 of 1996. The changes on the grape growing and wine making in the last 15 years, with the expansion of grapevines Vitis viníferas cultivation, the installation of several modern family wine companies, making wine with competitive quality, among other aspects, have enabled the implementation of concepts of Geographical Indications.