Design of an indicator of vine vigor potential conferred by soil (vipos), using a fuzzy expert system

Promoting sustainable agricultural practices is one of the challenges of the last decades. Organic and biodynamic viticulture can be an alternative to intensive viticulture, furthermore contributing to reduction of impact on environment and human health and guaranteeing soil preservation and quality products1. The aim of this experimentation was to evaluate the medium and long-term effects of different agronomic practices in viticulture on nutrient availability and heavy metal accumulation in soil.

In recent years, the use of amphorae in winemaking has become more frequent, symbolizing a return to the origins of vinification to broaden the availability of wines with different style.

The most recent methodological developments in soil survey and land evaluation, that can be taken as reference in the viticultural field, go over usage of the GIS and database. These informatic tools, which begin to be widely utilised, consent to realise evaluations at different geographic scale and with different data quality and quantity in entrance.

Aging on lees (AOL) is a powerful technique to protect varietal aroma and color. Simultaneously, helps to soften tannins and increase and improve wine body and structure. AOL is complementary to barrel aging modulating the wood impact and protecting wine from oxidative conditions.

The professional winegrower usually selects the harvest date considering several elements, such as the vine stem and berry colour, the flavour, appearance and grain elasticity. Nowadays these elements have turned old fashioned.