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…

Water is the most abundant active compound in wine!

Proton relaxation in model and real wines was investigated by fast field cycling NMR relaxometry. Albeit protons of wine are largely belonging to water molecules, their magnetic relaxation rates actually depend on various physico-chemical parameters related to the state of the wine and to its composition.

Impact of long term agroecological and conventional practices on subsurface soil microbiota in Macabeu and Xarel·lo vineyards

There is a growing trend on the transition from conventional to agroecological management of vineyards. However, the impact of practices, such as reduced-tillage, organic fertilization and cover crops, is not well-understood regarding the soil microbial diversity, and its relationship with the soil physicochemical properties in the subsurface depth near the rooting zone. Soil bacterial diversity is an important contributor towards plant health, productivity and response to environmental stresses. A field experiment was conducted by sampling subsurface soil bacterial community (NGS and qPCR) near to the root zone of Macabeu and Xarel·lo vineyards, located at the Penedes. 3 organic (ECO) and 3 conventional (CON) vineyards, with more than 10 years of respective management were sampled (n=5 each plot). ECO practices did not affect bacterial and fungal abundance but increased significantly the ammonium oxidizing bacteria and alpha-diversity (Inv.Simpson). Interestingly beta-diversity was significantly affected by the management strategy. ANOSIM-tests revealed a significative effect of the management (ecological vs conventional) and plot, on the soil microbial structure (ASV abundance). Main phyla depicted were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, whose relative abundances were not affected by the management. EdgeR assay revealed a significant increase of Cyanobacteria and decrease of Gemmatimonadetes and Firmicutes phyla in ECO. Interestingly, the grapevine variety was not correlated with the soil microbial community structure. Mantel-test revealed an important correlation (Spearman) of some physicochemical parameters with the soil microbiota structure, in order of importance: texture, EC, pH Ca/Mg, Mg/P, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, SO42-, and OM. N-NH4 and NTK, which were higher in the ECO managed soils, did not correlated significantly with the soil microbiome population. The results revealed the importance of combining a deep physicochemical characterization of each replicate with the microbial diversity assessment to gain better insights on the relationship between soil microbiome and vineyard management.

Digitising the vineyard: developing new technologies for viticulture in Australia 

New and developing technologies, that provide sensors and the software systems for using and interpreting them, are becoming pervasive through our lives and society. From smart phones to cars to farm machinery, all contain a range of sensors that are monitored automatically with intelligent software, providing us with the information we need, when we need it. This technological revolution has the potential to monitor all aspects of vineyard activity, assisting growers to make the management choices they need to achieve the outcomes they want. For example, a future vineyard may possess automated imaging that generates a three dimensional model of the vine canopy, highlighting differences from the desired structure and how to use canopy management to improve fruit composition, or generates maps with yield estimates and measurements of berry composition throughout the growing season.

Influence of cover crops in a Tempranillo vineyard grown under the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Appellation of Origin Rueda

The way to manage the vineyard soils has certainly changed in Spain during the last years. Traditionally, the vineyards were tilled, but this growing technique has been replaced in some vineyards by the bare soil with herbicide

Colloidal color stabilization in wine: A comparative study of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces mannoproteins

Structure-function relationships between the polysaccharide part of S. cerevisiae Mannoprotein Pools (MPs) and their potential to interact with anthocyanins and Protein-Tannins aggregates was previously assessed [1,2].