The “resources profile®”: a relevant decision and support system for adapting viticultural practices to soils agronomic properties and limiting their environmental impacts

The own-rooted vineyard of Santorini is a unique case of vineyard worldwide that is been cultivated for thousands of years. On the island’s volcanic soil, the vines are still cultivated with traditional techniques, which are adapted to the specific and extreme weather conditions that prevail on it. While climate change is a reality in the Mediterranean region, will Santorini vineyard endure its impact? The study of the traditional training systems, techniques and vine density, as well as the application of sustainable solutions (cover crops and use of kaolin etc.) revealed sustainable methods for the adaptation of the local viticulture to new climatic phenomena that tend to be more and more frequent in the region due to climate change.

OTA occurrence in wine is well-documented, with higher levels typically found in red (< 0.01-7.63 μg/l), followed by rose (0.01-2.40 μg/l) and white wine (<0.01-1.72 μg/l). Incidence rates are nOTAble, with studies showing OTA present in 53% of 521 red wines, 69% of 98 rose, and 61% of 301 white wines analysed. In europe, wine is estimated to be the second source of OTA intake after cereals. Since 2006, the maximum allowable limit for OTA in wine is 2 μg/l, according to regulation (ec) no. 1881/2006.

The consumption of wine in traditional wine-producing countries like Italy, Spain, and France is decreasing.

The combination of cover crops with regulated deficit irrigation has been lately shown to be a good method to improve harvest quality in irrigated vineyards of Southern Europe with semiarid climate, as an alternative to the conventional management, that consists on mechanical tillage and irrigation from fruitset to veraison and from then on reduced, or even ended.

When someone watches a hilly landscape, the image beauty creates emotions and frames of mind not easily forgettable, but sometimes man’s intervention by means of soil movement and reduction of the natural biodiversity can significantly modify the landscape and consequently the above-mentioned emotions. One speculates if sensory appreciation of a wine may be strongly affected by psychological factor: landscape beauty.