Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2016 9 Climates of Wine Regions Worldwide 9 Within vineyard temperature structure and variability in the umpqua valley of Oregon

Within vineyard temperature structure and variability in the umpqua valley of Oregon

Abstract

Climate influences viticulture and wine production at various scales with the majority of attention given to regional characteristics that define the general varieties that can be grown and the wine styles that can be produced. However, within vineyard scale effects of climate can be substantial due to landscape variations. To better understand the effect of local weather and climate on terroir, the goal of this research was to examine within vineyard temperature variations. Temperature data was collected from 23 sites in a commercial 33 ha vineyard in the Umpqua Valley of Oregon over a five-year period during 2011-2015. Dormant period temperatures (Nov-Mar) varied by roughly 1°C across the 23 sites with the extreme minimum temperatures varying by just over 3°C. Spring temperatures (Apr-May) varied by roughly 2°C for the vineyard locations with frost occurrence varying as much as nine days in most years. During the summer (Jun-Aug) maximum temperatures varied more than minimum temperatures across the sites, while extreme maximums ranged nearly 5°C.

During the ripening period (Sept-Oct) diurnal temperatures ranges at the 23 sites averaged 20°C. Over all years and sites the growing season heat accumulation averaged 1467 GDD but ranged from 1181 in the coolest year (2011) to 1705 in the warmest year (2015). The average range of GDD during these vintages shows that within vineyard variability in heat accumulation is 375 GDD. These variations in temperatures and heat accumulation are weakly correlated with elevation differences between the sites, however the combined effects of slope/aspect have more significant correlations with temperatures at these sites, especially minimum temperatures. As a result of the within vineyard differences in temperatures and heat accumulation, this commercial vineyard adequately ripens a range of varieties from Albariño, , Viognier, Syrah, Tempranillo, Grenache, , Touriga Nacional, Tannat and others.

DOI:

Publication date: June 22, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Henry E. Jones1, Gregory V. Jones1,2

(1) Fault Line Vineyards and Abacela Winery, 12500 Lookingglass Road, Roseburg, Oregon, USA
(2) Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, Oregon, USA

Contact the author

Keywords

terroir, temperature, mesoscale, viticulture, spatial variation

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Climate and the evolving mix of grape varieties in Australia’s wine regions

The purpose of this study is to examine the changing mix of winegrape varieties in Australia so as to address the question: In the light of key climate indicators and predictions of further climate change, how appropriate are the grape varieties currently planted in Australia’s wine regions? To achieve this, regions are classified into zones according to each region’s climate variables, particularly average growing season temperature (GST), leaving aside within-region variations in climates. Five different climatic classifications are reported. Using projections of GSTs for the mid- and late 21st century, the extent to which each region is projected to move from its current zone classification to a warmer one is reported. Also shown is the changing proportion of each of 21 key varieties grown in a GST zone considered to be optimal for premium winegrape production. Together these indicators strengthen earlier suggestions that the mix of varieties may be currently less than ideal in many Australian wine regions, and would become even less so in coming decades if that mix was not altered in the anticipation of climate change. That is, grape varieties in many (especially the warmest) regions will have to keep changing, or wineries will have to seek fruit from higher latitudes or elevations if they wish to retain their current mix of varieties and wine styles.

NEW INSIGHTS INTO VOLATILE SULPHUR COMPOUNDS SCALPING ON MICROAGGLOMERATED WINE CLOSURES

The evolution of wine during bottle ageing has been of great interest to ensure consistent quality over time. While the role of wine closures on the amount of oxygen is well-known [1], closures could also play other roles such as the scalping phenomenon of flavour compounds. Flavour scalping has been described as the sorption of flavour compounds by the packaging material, which could result in losses of flavour intensity. It has been reported in the literature that volatile sulphur compounds (VSC) can be scalped on wine closures depending on the type of closure (traditional and agglomerated cork, screw-cap, synthetic [2]).

Impact of closures on aroma of godello and torrontés white wines post-bottling

Aromatic composition contributes mainly to the quality aroma of white wine. A natural and gradual evolution of the aroma in the bottle occurs over storage with a very low oxygen content.

Partial rootzone drying (PRD): strategic irrigation management as viticultural tool affecting plant physiology and berry quality

Partial rootzone drying (PRD) is an irrigation management technique designed to reduce water use in grapevines without a decline in yield, thereby increasing water use efficiency (WUE). The principle of PRD is to keep part of the root system at a constant drying rate to produce soil derived signals to above-ground plant organs to induce a

Decline of rootstock-mediated physiological responses in Tempranillo grapevines by prolonged extreme conditions

Agriculture faces many global warming challenges especially in the Mediterranean region. Many strategies have been proposed in viticulture to manage global warming. Rootstocks are among them since they may affect water uptake and the scion’s performance.
The study conducted in La Rioja, Spain, aimed to investigate the impact of different rootstocks (1103P and 161-49C) on the performance of the Tempranillo grapevine scion over a three-day cycles under drought and extreme conditions, specifically during a heatwave in July 2022, with maximum air temperatures up to 40ºC and average daily temperatures of 29.1ºC.