Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 A vine physiology-based terroir study in the AOC-Lavaux region in Switzerland

A vine physiology-based terroir study in the AOC-Lavaux region in Switzerland

Abstract

OENO One – Special issue

Understanding how different pedoclimatic conditions interact with vine and berry physiology, and subsequently impact wine quality, is paramount for an good valorization of viticultural terroirs and can help to optimize mitigation strategies in the face of global warming.
The aim of the present study was to establish terroir zones in a steep slope region in Switzerland based on vine and berry physiology. The study area, Villette in the AOC Lavaux, was a unique experimental site due to the homogeneity of plant material in a relatively small microclimate (140 ha) and a multiplicity of different expositions, soil types and altitudes. Vine and berry physiology as well as temperature of twenty-two plots were monitored during three consecutive seasons to investigate whether a link with pedoclimatic parameters can be established.

The annual temporal variation of the average temperature was 142 growing degree days (GDD) over all years. Remarkably, spatial temperature variability was twice as high, with a variation between most extreme plots of 395 GDDs on average over all years. PCA and hierarchical clustering of assessed vine and berry physiological parameters resulted in a vintage dependent grouping of plots differing between years, which was not congruent with geological entities. This highlights the importance of the vintage effect, which had a large influence on vine and berry physiology and impacted terroir zones more than soil groups. Important differences in budburst and flowering were observed between plots, whereas altitude was the main driver of precocity in all years, being relatively independent of the vintage, which confirms the importance of topography in viticultural terroirs.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: March 16, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Markus Rienth1*, Frédéric Lamy1, Patrick Schoenenberger1, Dorothea Noll1, Fabrice Lorenzini2, Olivier Viret4and Vivian Zufferey3

1 Changins, University of Sciences and Art Western Switzerland, Changins College for Viticulture and Enology, route de Duillier 60, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland
2 Agroscope, route de Duillier 50, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland
3 Agroscope, avenue Rochettaz 21, 1009 Pully, Switzerland
4 Service de leo’agriculture et de la viticulture (SAVI), Avenue de Marcelin 29, 1110 Morges, Switzerland

Contact the author

Keywords

Viticultural terroir, berry ripening, temperature variability, phenology, climate change

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

Premiers résultats d’une étude des caractéristiques analytiques et sensorielles de vins de Syrah selon leur terroir

A set of Syrah plots covering a wide range of terroirs distributed in the vineyards of the Rhone Valley and the Mediterranean South is examined through their oenological and sensory characteristics. The multidimensional analysis of data leads to the following groupings: (1) A group of unstructured wines with a simple aromatic profile dominated by fruity-floral notes; they come from plots where the ripening conditions have been disturbed by unfavorable climatic conditions, or an excess harvest.

Read More

Geochemistry of Vrbničko Polje (Croatia) winegrowing site

A multi-element pedo-geochemical survey was carried out in Vrbničko polje vineyards on the Krk Island, Croatia. This Mediterranean winegrowing site is famous by Žlahtina wine production.

Read More

Impact of environmental conditions in vscs production during wine fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The aroma of wine is one of the most important determinants of quality as it strongly influences the consumer’s acceptance or rejection. Among the thousands of molecules comprising the wine aroma, sulfur-containing compounds can be considered as a “double-edged sword”: some of them, deriving from varietal precursors provide fruity pleasant aromas, while other ones, produced by yeast metabolism are related to “unpleasant” aromas

Read More

Impact of mannoproteins structural features on the colloid stability when facing different kinds of wine polyphenols

The aim was to study the impact of structural features in the polysaccharide moiety of mannoproteins on their interaction with polyphenols and the formation of colloidal aggregates.

Read More

Impact of canopy management on thiol precursors in white grapes: a six-year field study

The mechanisms behind thiol precursor accumulation in grapes remain incompletely understood, nor are the ways in which they can be improved by agronomic practices. A six-year field trial studied the physiological response of the Swiss white cultivar Vitis vinifera Arvine, rich in varietal thiols and precursors, to canopy management, i.e. leaf removal and canopy height.. Five treatments were set up in a randomized block design to assess the impacts of 1) pre-flowering LR (i.e. pre-flowering or full-flowering stages) and 2) compensating for the leaf area removed in the cluster zone by increasing the trimming height (i.e. 100 or 150 cm canopy height), compared with a non-defoliated control treatment.
Intensive pre-flowering LR severely reduced yield potential (–47% on average) and reduced the concentration of 3-mercaptohexanol precursors (P-3MH) in the must (–21%; p-value < 0.10).

Read More