Terroir 2012 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Geostatistical analysis of the vineyards in the canton of Geneva in relation to soil and climate

Geostatistical analysis of the vineyards in the canton of Geneva in relation to soil and climate

Abstract

Soil and climate maps at the 1:10000 scales exist for more than 12’000 ha of Swiss vineyards. The use of these maps as consulting tools for growers remains difficult due to the complexity of the relationship between terroir and the large number of grape varieties planted. The current distribution of varieties and rootstocks is the result of a long optimization process. This study aims at analyzing the relationships between grape varieties, soil characteristics and climatic conditions.
The study was performed on the 1365 ha of Geneva’s vineyards with 3885 digitalized parcels. The 19 grape varieties planted on at least 5 ha were matched with the soil and potential radiation maps. The surface of each variety-soil combination and the mean radiation were calculated for each parcel.

The analysis showed that grape varieties were primarily planted according to meso-climatic conditions. Late ripening varieties, like Syrah or Merlot, were always planted on parcels receiving higher amounts of radiation than those planted with Pinot noir or Gamaret. Minimum radiation was calculated for each variety. Traditional grape varieties (e.g. Gamay or Chasselas) were planted in all meso-climates, indicating that the warmest plots were not judged to be too warm for early varieties. Regarding soil characteristics, early varieties were more present on BRUNISOL, which mainly represented flatter areas of the vineyards (10 % mean slope) and late varieties on steeper areas (mainly CALCOSOL with 16 % mean slope).
The present study revealed actual practices and criterions used by growers to make planting decisions. It might indicate minimum climatic and soil requirements for a given variety in the canton of Geneva. Continued monitoring may show the adjustments made by the growers to correct unsuccessful planting decisions. The analysis of these adjustments provides useful information for vineyard consultants.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: October 1, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2012

Type: Article

Authors

Stéphane BURGOS, Elisabeth FORTIER

École d’Ingénieurs de Changins, rte de Duiller 50, 1260 Nyon

Contact the author

Keywords

grape varieties, soil, climate, terroir, SIG, geostatistic, Geneva

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2012

Citation

Related articles…

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

EUGENOL AS QUALITY MARKER OF WINES AND SPIRITS FROM HYBRID VINES: IMPACT OF DIFFERENT WINEMAKING AND DISTILLATION PROCESSES

Eugenol, widely spread in various plants notably cloves, basil and bay, was identified too in wines from hybrid grapes without contact with oak wood. This aromatic molecule presents a strong spicy note of clove and also antifongic properties. Eugenol was described as an endogenous compound of Baco blanc, from the grapes to the spirits of Armagnac area. Moreover, this compound is a chemical marker of Baco blanc products quality.
Influences of harvest time and different winemaking processes (settling, use of enzymatic preparations, lees content and stock time before distillation) on Baco blanc wine eugenol contents were explored using a two-levels full factorial Design of Experiments (DoEs).

Read More

Effect of ozone treatments in wine production of young and short-term aged white wines: destructive and non-destructive evaluation of main quality attributes

The main aim of WiSSaTech project (PRIN P2022LXY3A), supported by Italian Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca and NextGenerationEU program, is to investigate eco-friendly and safe alternatives to sulphur dioxide (SO2) in wine production.

Read More

TARTARIC STABILIZATION MAY AFFECT THE COLOR AND POLYPHENOLIC COMPOSITION OF TANNAT RED WINES FROM URUGUAY

Tartrate precipitation affects the properties of wines, due to the formation of crystals that cause turbidity, even after being bottled. The forced tartaric stabilization is carried out frequently for young wines, through various physicochemical procedures. The traditional treatment for tartaric stabilization is refrigeration, but it can have a negative effect on wine’s sensory properties, and particularly on the color of red wines. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different tartaric stabilization options on the color and phenolic composition of Tannat red wines from Uruguay.

Read More

Multidisciplinary strategies for understanding ill-defined concepts

Aims: The objective of the present work is to review strategies applied to decrypt multidimensional and ill-defined concepts employed by winemakers and to illustrate these strategies with recent applications.

Read More