Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Terroir valorization strategies in a reformed denomination area: the Prosecco case study

Terroir valorization strategies in a reformed denomination area: the Prosecco case study

Abstract

Aims: This work summarizes some of the upmost recent studies and valorization strategies concerning the Prosecco wine production area. After the geographical denomination Prosecco (DO) was strongly reformed in 2009, the newborn DOCG (controlled and guaranteed DO) and DOC (controlled DO) areas have required different and specific strategies to promote and protect the value of their production.

Methods and Results:

Landscape and Natural Biodiversity in the DOCG Conegliano-Valdobbiadene

A preliminary survey was carried out among winegrowers of the Prosecco DOCG area to gather information on aspects relating to biodiversity and the landscape. We focused on the biodiversity of Cartizze, one of the most historic and traditional sub-areas, and compared it with the rest of the DOCG. Data from the questionnaire gave a first evaluation on the level of global biodiversity and landscape preservation in this micro-terroir.

Sustainable Agronomic Techniques for the DOC Prosecco Area

Novel systems for precision irrigation of Glera vineyards are under investigation. Concerning the management of newly planted vineyards, we compared the effect of different crop load in young Glera vines, with the aim of defining optimum crop levels to obtain a balanced growth of all structures in developing plants. Furthermore, new irrigation and nutrition strategies to minimize the effects of climate change on the acidity of the variety Glera are under investigation.

Conclusion: 

Results from the survey on biodiversity indicated that the old age of the vineyards and the traditional agronomic techniques are among the factors contributing to maintain a higher biodiversity in the Cartizze. The loss of landscape identity is an incoming threat and its preservation is one of the most urgent foresight needs. All these elements must be promoted and extended to the other areas in the DOCG Conegliano Valdobbiadene. 

Results from the studies on vine irrigation, nitrogen supply and crop management indicate that the adoption of appropriate agronomic techniques allow to optimize the inputs to the vineyard, preserving the quality and identity of Prosecco wine in the current climate change context.  

Significance and Impact of the Study: The institution of the DOCG and DOC Prosecco denomination areas calls for renewed and effective strategies to promote and protect the value of these two distinct terroirs. Results from these studies will help promoting a higher terroir expression by means of a better exploitation of its natural resources and their economic value, trough the adoptions of agronomic techniques able to promote higher environmental sustainability and greater resilience of Glera to climate change.

DOI:

Publication date: March 16, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Federica Gaiotti*, Diego Tomasi, Nicola Belfiore, Lorenzo Lovat, Matteo Tonon, Marco Lucchetta, Davide Boscaro

Council for Agricultural Research and Economics-Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology, Viale 28 Aprile, 26, 31015 Conegliano (TV), Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

Glera cv., Prosecco wine, terroir, biodiversity, sustainable agronomic techniques

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

Impact of changes in pruning practices on vine growth and yield

A gradual decline in vineyards has been observed over the past twenty years worldwide. This might be explained by the climate change, practices change or the increase of dieback diseases. To increase the longevity of vines, we studied the impact of different pruning strategies in four adult and four young vineyards located in France and Spain. In France, vineyards were planted with Cabernet franc on 3309C while Spanish trials were planted with Tempranillo grafted on 110R. Vegetative expression, yield, quality of berries and wood vessels conductivity were measured. The distribution of vegetative expression, yield and berry composition between primary and secondary vegetation were quantified. Finally, tomography was used to evaluate the implication of the treatments on sap flows.
First results show that i) the respectful pruning leads to an increase of 30 to 50% more secondary shoots than the aggressive pruning in France and between 15 and 20% in Spain, ii) there is no major effect on the yield over the first two years following the implementation of the new pruning practices, although the proportion of clusters from suckers is higher on the respectful pruning method. On young vines, the development of the trunk according to a respectful pruning leads to a loss of harvest 2 years after planting. This is due to the removal, on the future trunk, of the green suckers which carrying bunches. This operation carried out in spring rather than during winter pruning, would promote a better leaf / fruit balance when the plant comes into production, and could lead to better hydraulic conduction in the vessels of the trunk. Maintaining these trials for several years will provide more robust data to assess the impact of these practices on the vines over the long term.

Bioclimatic shifts and land use options for Viticulture in Portugal

Land use, plays a relevant role in the climatic system. It endows means for agriculture practices thus contributing to the food supply. Since climate and land are closely intertwined through multiple interface processes, climate change may lead to significant impacts in land use. In this study, 1-km observational gridded datasets are used to assess changes in the Köppen–Geiger and Worldwide Bioclimatic (WBCS)

Current climate change in the Oplenac wine-growing district (Serbia)

Serbian autochthonous vine varieties Smederevka (for white wines) and Prokupac (for rosé and red wines) are the primary representatives of typical characteristics of wines and terroir of numerous wine-growing areas in Serbia. In the past, these varieties were the leading vine varieties, however, as the result of globalization of winemaking and the trend of consumption of wines from widely prevalent vine varieties, they were replaced by introduced international varieties. Smederevka and Prokupac vine varieties are characterized by later time of grape ripening, and relative sensitivity to low temperatures. Climate conditions can be a restrictive factor for production of high-quality grapes and wine and for the spatial spreading of these varieties in hilly continental wine-growing areas.
This paper focuses on the spatial analysis of changes of main climate parameters, in particular, analysis of viticultural bioclimatic indices that were determined for the purposes of viticulture zoning of wine-growing areas in the period 1961-2010, and those same parameters determined for the current, that is, referential climate period (1988-2017). Results of the research, that is, analysis of climate changes indicate that the majority of examined climate parameters in the Oplenac wine-growing district improved from the perspective of Smederevka and Prokupac vine varieties. These studies of climate conditions indicate that changes of analyzed climate parameters, that is, bioclimatic indices will be favorable for cultivation of varieties with later grape ripening times and those more sensitive to low temperatures, such as the autochthonous vine varieties Smederevka and Prokupac, therefore, it is recommended to producers to more actively plant vineyards with these varieties in the territory of the Oplenac wine-growing district.

A better understanding of the climate effect on anthocyanin accumulation in grapes using a machine learning approach

The current climate changes are directly threatening the balance of the vineyard at harvest time. The maturation period of the grapes is shifted to the middle of the summer, at a time when radiation and air temperature are at their maximum. In this context, the implementation of corrective practices becomes problematic. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the climate effect on the quality of different grape varieties remains very incomplete to guide these choices. During the Innovine project, original experiments were carried out on Syrah to study the combined effects of normal or high air temperature and varying degrees of exposure of the berries to the sun. Berries subjected to these different conditions were sampled and analyzed throughout the maturation period. Several quality characteristics were determined, including anthocyanin content. The objective of the experiments was to investigate which climatic determinants were most important for anthocyanin accumulation in the berries. Temperature and irradiance data, observed over time with a very thin discretization step, are called functional data in statistics. We developed the procedure SpiceFP (Sparse and Structured Procedure to Identify Combined Effects of Functional Predictors) to explain the variations of a scalar response variable (a grape berry quality variable for example) by two or three functional predictors (as temperature and irradiance) in a context of joint influence of these predictors. Particular attention was paid to the interpretability of the results. Analysis of the data using SpiceFP identified a negative impact of morning combinations of low irradiance (lower than about 100 μmol m−2 s−1 or 45 μmol m−2 s−1 depending on the advanced-delayed state of the berries) and high temperature (higher than 25oC). A slight difference associated with overnight temperature occurred between these effects identified in the morning.

Impact of climate change on the viticultural climate of the Protected Designation of Origin “Jumilla” (SE Spain)

Protected Designation of Origin “Jumilla” (PDO Jumilla) is located in the Spanish provinces of Albacete and Murcia, in the South-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, where most of the models predict a severe impact of climate change in next decades. PDO Jumilla covers an area of 247,054 hectares, of which more than 22,000 hectares