Electromagnetic conductivity mapping and harvest zoning: deciphering relationships between soil and wine quality

It is not easy at first sight to give an exhaustive definition of the notion of terroir as it can be simplified or complicated at will. Thus the vagueness that surrounds this concept leaves the door open to various interpretations of the terroir. These tend towards a questionable level of objectivity because the fields they explore are not sufficient to explain the notion on their own, constituting only part of a whole.

Soil is important in the carbon cycle and the dynamics of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O). Key soil characteristics, such as organic matter content, texture, structure, pH and microbial activity, play a determining role in GHG emissions[1]. The objective of the study is to delimit different types of soil, with different soil management and to be able to verify the differences in CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions. The study was carried out in a vineyard of Bodegas Campo Viejo in Logroño (La Rioja), whose plant material is Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tempranillo.

The wine industry is currently shifting toward more sustainable production systems. There are many reasons for this as the interest of people over climate change and, consequently the wine consumer’s choice toward organic and biodynamic, reduced carbon-footprint, vegan and other environmentally friendly wines. While the viticultural effects of biodynamic and organic practices on wine grapes have been investigated, there is a lack in literature on the general effect on the final quality of wine

Terroir is not only a geographical site, but it is a more complex concept able to express the “collective knowledge of the interactions” between the environment and the vines mediated through human action and “providing distinctive characteristics” to the final product (OIV 2010). It is often treated and accepted as a “black box”, in which the relationships between wine and its origin have not been clearly explained. Nevertheless, it is well known that terroir expression is strongly dependent on the physical environment, and in particular on the interaction between soil-plant and atmosphere system, which influences the grapevine responses, grapes composition and wine quality. The Terroir studying and mapping are based on viticultural zoning procedures, obtained with different levels of know-how, at different spatial and temporal scales, empiricism and complexity in the description of involved bio-physical processes, and integrating or not the multidisciplinary nature of the terroir. The scientific understanding of the mechanisms ruling both the vineyard variability and the quality of grapes is one of the most important scientific focuses of terroir research. In fact, this know-how is crucial for supporting the analysis of climate change impacts on terroir resilience, identifying new promised lands for viticulture, and driving vineyard management toward a target oenological goal. In this contribution, an overview of the last findings in terroir studies and approaches will be shown with special attention to the terroir resilience analysis to climate change, facing the use and abuse of terroir concept and new technology able to support it and identifying the terroir zones.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and its derived products, in terms of cultivated area and economic volume, constitute the most relevant fruit crop in the world (7.5 million cultivated hectares). In the current context of climate change, the wine sector faces unprecedented challenges to satisfy a growing demand for wines of greater quality through sustainable viticulture. Global warming threatens quality wine production in Mediterranean wine regions in particular. The increase in heatwaves and drought episodes accelerate the vine phenology and alter the ripening and composition of grapes and wine. Extreme abiotic stress episodes compromise grape production and plant survival, intensifying the pressure on the use of limited resources like water. Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important hormone in the ripening of certain fruits and in plant response to abiotic stress.