Climate, grapes, and wine: structure and suitability in a variable and changing climate

Abstract

Climate is a pervasive factor in the success of all agricultural systems, influencing whether a crop is suitable to a given region, largely controlling crop production and quality, and ultimately driving economic sustainability. Climate’s influence on agribusiness is never more evident than with viticulture and wine production where climate is arguably the most critical aspect in ripening fruit to optimum characteristics to produce a given wine style. Any assessment of climate for wine production must examine a multitude of factors that operate over many temporal and spatial scales. Namely climate influences must be considered at the macroscale (synoptic climate) to the mesoscale (regional climate) to the toposcale (site climate) to the microscale (vine row and canopy climate). In addition, climate influences come from both broad structural conditions and singular weather events manifested through many temperature, precipitation, and moisture parameters. To understand climate’s role in growing winegrapes and wine production one must consider 1) the weather and climate structure necessary for optimum quality and production characteristics, 2) the climate suitability to different winegrape cultivars, 3) the climate’s variability in wine producing regions, and 4) the influence of climate change on the structure, suitability, and variability of climate.

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

G.V. Jones

Department of Environmental Studies
Southern Oregon University
1250 Siskiyou Blvd
Ashland, Oregon

Contact the author

Keywords

Climate, grapes, wine, temperature, climate change, climate variability

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

Impact of aging on dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in Corvina and Corvinone wines

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a low molecular weight sulfur compound produced in wine during aging by the chemical degradation of S-Methyl-L-methionine (SMM). Investigating the aromatic profile of Amarone commercial wines from different wineries, it was found that DMS presented a high variation in concentration across wine samples ranging from 2.88 to 64.34 μg/L, which potentially can

Changes in white wine composition after treatment with cationic exchange resin: impact on wine oxidation after 8 years of bottle storage

Samples from 3 wine types were treated with a cationic exchange resin (7 lots) and stored for 8 years (47 samples). Forty-seven parameters were determined, including (1) important substrates with impact in white wine oxidation and (2) markers of oxidation. From group 1, sugars, elements, phenolic compounds, α-dicarbonyls and SO2 and from group 2, browning (A420), acetaldehyde, alkanals, furanic compounds were quantified.

Unexpected relationships between δ13C, water deficit, and wine grape performance

Water nutrition is crucial for wine grape performance. Thus soil investigation aims at characterizing spatial and temporal variability of available water. A possible strategy

100 ans d’évolution des règles relatives à l’encépagement des AOC viticoles françaises : quelles perspectives face aux enjeux contemporains

To characterize a wine, the most frequently used criteria describe its color, its origin, the grape varieties from which they come, or even for white wines its residual sugar content (dry, semi-dry, sweet). In france, the system of appellations of origin set up in 1919 was initially based solely on the notoriety and origin of the wines. But given the unfavorable consequences that this lack of details generated, the public authorities quickly integrated in 1927 into the “capus” law criteria for access to designations of origin, relating to the specific characteristics of the soils of the vineyards and the grape varieties used, in particular exclusion of interspecific hybrid varieties. In 1935 the creation of the aoc system confirmed the interest in precisely defining all the production conditions that must be implemented to be able to claim the benefit of an aoc, and grape varieties were an essential condition for acquisition.

Changing New Zealand climate equals a changing New Zealand terroir?

Changing New Zealand climate equals a changing New Zealand terroir