Spatial Analysis of Climate in Winegrape Growing Regions in Portugal

The recovery of ancestral or minority vine varieties has been gaining great interest in recent years, among other reasons because it is likely that some of these varieties, due to the fact that they are found in relict areas, have a greater potential for adaptation to external factors (biotic or abiotic) and can minimize the effects that climate change is causing in viticulture. Varieties that can be grown at altitude are currently being sought to combat rising temperatures and prolonged extreme drought conditions. In Catalonia, the Pyrenean expansion of vineyard cultivation is documented from the 10th century and has been related to the “small climatic optimum” (9th-12th centuries) and also to seigniorial power.[1] But different adverse climatic periods and the arrival of Phylloxera by the late 19th century made many of these crops disappear.[2]

The species and origin used for red wine oak aging determines the physiological composition of the wood and thus the finished wines. In America, oak is grown primarily in the states of Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, Oregon, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin and California. The aim of this study was to analyze how the choice of barrels made with Quercus Alba oak from different geographic areas of the United States (Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania) influences the polyphenolic composition of Tempranillo red wines.

Sixty five % of the agricultural area of the Basque Country located in the DO Ca Rioja corresponds to vineyards. More than 40% of it has an average slope greater than 10%, which makes it sensitive to erosive processes. Furthermore, it is foreseeable that extreme weather events (storms, hail, extreme heat and cold, etc.) will be favored due to climate change. Cover cropping can mitigate this risk, and therefore the objective of this work is to evaluate the impact that a vegetable cover has on the agronomic behavior of the vineyard, the quality of the grape and soil erosion. For this, a trial has been carried out with a Graciano variety vineyard with a slope between 10% -20% during the years 2020 and 2021. Conventional tillage management in the area has been compared (4-6 passes per year of tillage machinery) versus spontaneous vegetation cover management in the vineyard. This implies not tilling and allowing the grass of the land to colonize the range between the lines of vines, controlling their height through 1-3 mowing passes per year, always trying to affect the surface of the land as little as possible. The vegetative growth, yield and quality of the grape and wine was measured. Furthermore, erosion has been measured using Gerlasch boxes. The yield was lower in the second year of the trial in the cover crop treatment, but erosion was significantly reduced.

The Valpolicella area (Veneto Region, Italy) is famous for its high quality wines: Amarone and Recioto, both obtained from partial post-harvest dehydrated red grapes. The main cultivars used for these wines are Corvina and Corvinone. In this Region hundreds of years ago a particular training system (Pergola, cordon/cane with horizontal shoot-positioning) was developed. In the last 20 years the Guyot have been introduced in the area; now Pergola and Guyot are equally widespread in the Valpolicella area. In two different environmental conditions (hill and floodplain) two vineyards, one for each type of training system, were studied along two years (2011-2012).

The « Condado de Huelva » Registered Appellation Origin Mark (RAOM) is located in the Province of Huelva, in the southwest of Andalucía (Spain), being limited by the Atlantic Ocean and the Province of Sevilla. « Zalema », a white high productive grapevine plant is its major cultivar. The predominant rootstocks used are « Rupestris du Lot », « Castel 196-17 », « Couderc 161-49 », Couderc 33-09 », « Richter 110 » and « Millardet 41-B ». Traditionally, « Zalema » cv. has been dedicated to the elaboration of amber, bouquet-flavoured wines and in the last years mainly to young, fruit-flavoured white table wines.