Dating of old vineyards: A multidisciplinary, non-invasive approach for age validation developed in Campo de Borja (Spain)

Abstract

The present study aims to develop a multidisciplinary method capable of estimating the age of vineyards within the Protected Designation of Origin (P.D.O.) Campo de Borja in a probabilistic manner. This objective arose from the growing interest in “old vineyards”, driven by their heritage value and the oenological character they provide, that generates a need for scientific tools that allow their objective identification and certification. Although the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV, 2024) has recently established a consensus definition, reliable historical records are often unavailable in many contexts to verify this information. Therefore, we proposed an approach based on the compilation and analysis of the plot’s configuration using historical aerial photographs, vine training scheme, and a morphological study analyzing the plants’ annual growth. A total of 85 plots were examined between 2023 and 2025. Results confirm a moderate-to-strong correlation between the geospatial age and the P.D.O. records in the total study set (r = 0.504). However, in the sub-sample of 14 plots selected for their verified age, both indicators showed an insufficient correlation with local records (geospatial r = 0.38, morphological r = 0.17), due to the lack of accurate historical data. In any case, the proposed methodology allowed a reliable estimation of age, constituting a useful tool for the certification and valorization of the viticultural heritage.

References

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Acknowledgments

This work is part of the project “Garnachas Históricas: Cooperation Group for the Conservation of Historical Grenaches from the Protected Designation of Origin Campo de Borja.” M. Galar and M. Velaz are beneficiary of a pre-doctoral contract of the Public University of Navarra (Ref. 871/2023 and RES2640/2023, respectively). A. Villa-Llop is the beneficiary of an Industrial predoctoral contract of the Government of Navarra (Ref. 283E/2020). N. Torres is a beneficiary of a Ramón y Cajal Grant RYC2021-034586-I funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by ‘EU NextGenerationEU/PRTR’.