Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Microclimatic differences in fruit zone of vineyards on different elevations of ‘nagy-eged hill’ in eger wine region, Hungary

Microclimatic differences in fruit zone of vineyards on different elevations of ‘nagy-eged hill’ in eger wine region, Hungary

Abstract

The Bull’s Blood of Eger (‘Egri Bikavér’) is one of the most reputed red wines in Hungary and abroad, produced in the Northeastern part of the country. It is known as a ruby blended, full bodied red wine with fruity and aged character. Vitis vinifera L. Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) is the base component of the ‘Egri Bikavér’, beside it is the most abundant red grape cultivar of the region and of Hungary. It is grown in many vineyards along the wine region resulting in different wine quality and style depending on slope, elevation, aspect, soil and microclimatic conditions.

Several attempts using GIS technics have been made recently to characterize the most important growing sites in the wine region concerning topographical, soil and climatic conditions. Data of automatic meteorological weather stations located in the vineyards, E-OBS gridded database and the PRECIS regional climate model was also used to better understand the suitability of the vineyards for Kékfrankos quality wine production.

In the present study, we described with a fine scale measurement the fruit zone microclimate (temperature, relative humidity) in three vineyards differing in their elevation on the emblematic ‘Nagy-Eged hill with EasyLog EL USB-2+ temperature and humidity sensors (Lascar Electronics, UK). The elevation of Nagy-Eged hill lower part [NEL] is 294 m, Nagy-Eged hill middle [NEM] is 332 m and Nagy-Eged hill top [NET] is 482 m above sea level. Measurements were taken in 2015 July-October. Mathematical calculation of multiple comparison, i.e. Marascuillo’s procedure was used to distinguish microclimatic differences among different elevations. Day and night time data were separately analyzed.

Concerning the temperature data of Nagy-Eged Hill, we may suppose that the effect of a thermal belt was the principal factor influencing fruit zone temperature, since the warmest area (especially at night) was the middle part of the hill, although the upper part is far steeper, therefore it could receive more solar radiant heat than the others. Soil is richer in gravels, stones on the top of the hill and in the middle part, but the re-radiation heating effect did not exceed that of thermal belt.
Due to the moving of cooler air masses towards the lower part of a valley and the lower wind speed, the air surrounding the vines gets more humid in most part of the growing season. The advantage of dryer air conditions in the middle and top positions of the hill may be benefited by using environmental friendly cultivation technology with less pesticides.
Climate change is a challenge at the Nagy-Eged Hill not only for temperature increase and water shortage, but also for heavy, irregular precipitation that results in serious erosion problem.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: June 23, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Borbála BÁLO (1), Márta LADÁNYI (2), Nikoletta SZOBONYA (1), Péter BODOR (1),Tamás DEÁK, György Dénes BISZTRAY (1)

(1) Department of Viticulture, Szent István University, Budapest, Hungary
(2) Department of Biometrics and Agricultural Informatics, Szent István University,Budapest, Hungary

Contact the author

Keywords

terroir, slope, fruit zone, temperature, humidity, thermal belt

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Spatio-temporal analysis of grapevine water behaviour in hillslope vineyards. the example of corton hill, Burgundy

Hillslope vineyards show various and complex water dynamics between soil and plants, and in order to gain further insight into this phenomenon, 8 grapevine plots were monitored during three vintages, from 2010 to 2013, on Corton Hill, Burgundy, France.

Read More

Polyphenolic profile and dietary fiber content of skins and seeds from unfermented and fermented grape pomace

The valorization of winemaking byproducts is subordinated to the knowledge of their chemical characteristics. This work concerned the determination of the polyphenolic profile and the dietary fiber content of skins and seeds from unfermented and fermented pomace of different cultivars (Moscato bianco, Cortese, Arneis, Pinot Noir, Barbera, Grignolino, Nebbiolo), sampled from some wineries in the Piedmont area (Italy) during the 2020 harvest.

Read More

AGEING REVEALS THE TERROIR OF AGED RED BORDEAUX WINES REGARDLESS OF THE VINTAGES! TARGETED APPROACH USING ODOROUS COMPOUNDS LEVELS INCLUDING TERPENES AND C13 NORISOPRENOIDS

The chemistry of wine is notably complex and is modified by ageing of the bottles. The composition of wines is the result of vine production (under the influence of vintage, climate and soils); yeast production (under the influence of juice composition and fermentation management); lactic bacteria production (under the influence of young wine composition and malolactic fermentation management); and of the ageing process either in vats, barrels or bottles or both. The composition is linked to the quality perceived by consumers but also to their origin, sometimes associated to the “terroir” concept.

Read More

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry: a promising technology for the high throughput phenotyping of grape berry volatilome

Wine grapes breeding has been concentrating a lot of efforts within the grape research community over the last decade. The quick phenotyping of genotype quality traits including aroma composition remains challenging. Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS), a technology first available in 2008 and developing rapidly, could be particularly valuable for this usage. The aims of this study were i) to use SIFT-MS, to analyze the whole volatilome from different grape varieties, ii) to assess the ability of this technology to discriminate varieties according to their grape aroma composition, and iii) to study the stability of SIFT-MS signal over maturation to define a sampling strategy.

Read More

‘TROPICAL’ POLYFUNCTIONAL THIOLS AND THEIR ROLE IN AUSTRALIAN RED WINES

Following anecdotal evidence of unwanted ‘tropical’ character in red wines resulting from vineyard interventions and a subsequent yeast trial observing higher ‘red fruit’ character correlated with higher thiol concentrations, the role of polyfunctional thiols in commercial Australian red wines was investigated.
First, trials into the known tropical thiol modulation technique of foliar applications of sulfur and urea were conducted in parallel on Chardonnay and Shiraz.1 The Chardonnay wines showed expected results with elevated concentrations of 3-sulfanylhexanol (3-SH) and 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate (3-SHA), whereas the Shiraz wines lacked 3-SHA. Furthermore, the Shiraz wines were described as ‘drain’ (known as ‘reductive’ aroma character) during sensory evaluation although they did not contain thiols traditionally associated with ‘reductive’ thiols (H2S, methanethiol etc.).

Read More