Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Effects of future climate change on grape quality: a case study for the Aglianico grape in Campania region, Italy

Effects of future climate change on grape quality: a case study for the Aglianico grape in Campania region, Italy

Abstract

Water deficits limit yields and this is one of the negative aspects of climate change. However, this applies particularly when emphasis is on biomass production (e.g. for crops like maize, wheat, etc.) but not necessarily for plants where quality, not quantity is most relevant. For grapevine water stress occurring during specific phenological phases is an important factor when producing good quality wines. It induces in the red wine the production of anthocyanins and aroma precursors. On this base, in some terroirs the future climate constrictions could represent an opportunity to increase winegrowers’ incomes.

This study was carried out in Campania region (Southern Italy), an area well known for high quality wine production. Growth of the Aglianico grapevine cultivar, with a standard clone population on 1103 Paulsen rootstocks, was studied on two different types of soil: Calcisols and Cambisols. The agro-hydrological model SWAP was calibrated and applied to estimate soil-plant water status at the various crop phenological phases for three vintages (2011-2013). Then, the Crop water stress index (CWSI), as estimated by the model, was related to physiological measurements (e.g. leaf water potential), grape bunches measurements (e.g. sugar content) and wine quality (e.g. tannins). For both soils, the correlation between grape quality characteristics and CWSI were high (e.g. 0.895 with anthocyanins in the skins).

Finally, the model was applied to future climate conditions (2021-2051) obtained from statistical downscaling of Global Circulation Models (AOGCM) in order to estimate the effect of the climate on CWSI and hence on grape quality. Results show that in the study area the effects of climate change on grape and wine quality are not expected to be significant for Aglianico grapevine when grown on Calcisols and Cambisols.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: June 23, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

A. Bonfante (1), S.M. Alfieri (2), R. Albrizio (1), A. Basile (1), R. De Mascellis (1), A. Gambuti (3), P. Giorio1, G. Langella (1), P. Manna (1), E. Monaco (1), A. Erbaggio (4), L. Moio (3) and F. Terribile (3)

(1) National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Mediterranean Agricultural and Forestry Systems (ISAFOM), Ercolano (NA), Italy
(2) Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, 3 University of Naples Federico II, Department of Agriculture, Portici (NA), Italy
(3) Agronomist freelancer

Contact the author

Keywords

climate change, grape quality, SWAP, Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI), Leaf Water Potential (LWP), Calcisols, Cambisols

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Volatile organic compounds investigation in Müller Thurgau wines obtained from vineyard treated with biochar

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are responsible for the flavor and aroma of a wine. The sensory qualities of the wines depend not only on grape intrinsic characteristics, but also on extrinsic factors including the soil composition. Previous studies have shown that the application of pyrogenic carbon (biochar) can lead to a change in soil parameters. For that reason, one of the goals of the ERDF funded project «WoodUp» is the characterization and reutilization of the locally produced biochar for agricultural purposes.

Read More

Spontaneous fermentation dynamics of indigenous yeast populations and their effect on the sensory properties of Riesling

Varietal Riesling aroma relies strongly on the formation and liberation of bound aroma compounds. Floral monoterpenes, green C6-alcohols, fruity C13-norisoprenoids and spicy volatile phenols are predominantly bound to disaccharides, which are produced and stored in the grape berry during berry maturation. Grape processing aims to extract maximum amount of the precursors from the berry skin to increase the potential for a strong varietal aroma in the wine. Subsequent yeast selection plays an important part in this process.

Read More

Predicting provenance and grapevine cultivar implementing machine learning on vineyard soil microbiome data: implications in grapevine breeding

The plant rhizosphere microbial communities are an essential component of plant microbiota, which is crucial for sustaining the production of healthy crops. The main drivers of the composition of such communities are the growing environment and the planted genotype. Recent viticulture studies focus on understanding the effects of these factors on soil microbial composition since microbial biodiversity is an important determinant of plant phenotype, and of wine’s organoleptic properties. Microbial biodiversity of different wine regions, for instance, is an important determinant of wine terroir.

Read More

Colloidal stabilization of young red wine by Acacia Senegal gum: the major implication of protein-rich arabinogalactan-proteins

Acacia senegal gum (Asen) is an edible dried gummy exudate [1] added in young red wines to ensure their colloidal stability, precluding the precipitation of the coloring matter. Asen macromolecules, belonging to the arabinogalactan-protein (AGP) family [2], are hyperbranched, charged and amphiphilic heteropolysaccharides composed especially of sugars (92-96 %) and a small fraction of proteins (1-3 %). Asen is defined as a continuum of macromolecules that could be separated into three fractions by hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) [3-4]. HIC-F1 (85-94 % of Asen), HIC-F2 (6-18 % of Asen) and HIC-F3 (1-3 % of Asen) are named and classified in that order according to their protein content, and then a growing hydrophobicity. The efficiency of Asen towards the coloring matter instability is evaluated according to an “efficacy test” that consists to determine the Asen quantity required to prevent the flocculation by calcium of a colloidal iron hexacyanoferrate solution (International Oenological Codex).

Read More

Investigation on the potentiality of a biostimulant by Fabaceae tissues and rich in triacontanol to enhance grapevine resilience under drought stress

The primary objective of this research was to investigate the potential benefits of a Fabaceae-based product rich in triacontanol (a long-chain alcohol) applied to Vitis vinifera cv. Merlot, on key physiological and productive parameters of grapevines under controlled water stress conditions.

Read More