“Terroir” and climate change in Franconia / Germany

Abstract

Franconia which is a “cool climate” winegrowing region is well known for its fruity white wines. The most common grape cultivars are Silvaner and Mueller-Thurgau.
Franconia is a landscape of contrasts with various climatic conditions. The vineyard sites are located at a height between 120 m and 420 m above sea level on slopes and steep slopes as well as on terraces.
In favourable south orientated sites the maximum temperatures reach about 40° C (peak value year 2003), while winter frosts cause deep temperatures down to about -27°C (year 2002) in valleys or exposed sites.
At present, the Franconian winegrowing region is being affected by the global climate change. Several forecasts predict an average annual temperature increase of approximately 2°C for Southern Germany until the year 2050. During the same period an increased occurrence of temperature-related extreme events is expected.
In case of permanent increase of the average air temperatures and temperature-related extreme events, the cultivation of grapes on E, W and NW slopes could be considered appropriate to preserve the fruity character of traditional white wines.

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

Ulrike Maaß, Arnold Schwab

Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture An der Steige 15, D-97209 Veitshöchheim

Contact the author

Keywords

Vineyard Climate, Climate change, Terroir, Topoclimate, Microclimate

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

Identification of natural terroir units for viticulture: Stellenbosch, South Africa

Une unité de terroir naturel (UTN) peut être définie comme une unité de terre qui est caractérisée par une relative homogénéité topographique, climatique, géologique et pédologique. De telles unités sont de grande valeur pour mieux comprendre le système terroir/vigne/vin. Le but de cette étude est de caractériser la région viticole du Bottelaryberg. – Simonsberg-Helderberg en utilisant une information digitale existante et d’identifier des UTN en utilisant un Système d’information Géographique.

isUP-AgrO European project – unlocking the potential for agricultural research on an EU outmost region: boosting ISOPlexis center

The isUP-AgrO project aims to enhance the capability of ISOPlexis – Centre of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Technology, a research unit from the University of Madeira, an outermost region of Portugal.

Handbook of the charter of the universal holistic metaethics  sustainability 4.1c” for certification and warranty bio-métaétique 4.1c

Defined the new paradigm, the applied philosophy, the methodology, the algorithm of the “Charter for Universal Holistic MetaEthic Sustainability 4.1C17.18”, research has continued to define and write, an
handbook that should be:”Complete Universal Holistic MetaEthics 4.1C of descriptors” of the “Charter for Sustainability Universal Holistic MetaEthic 4.1C17.18” with basic and applicative indexing. In these activities and research we have involved over 3500 Italian and non-Italian people from the research world to simple but educated, enlightened and enlightening citizens and we have analyzed over 180000
entries concerning the descriptors above, which represent the basic “descriptors”.

Characterization of simple polyphenols in seeds of autochthonous grapevine varieties grown in Croatia (Vitis vinifera L.)

Croatia has rich grapevine genetic resources with more than 125 autochthonous varieties preserved. Coastal region of Croatia, Dalmatia, is well known for wine production based on autochthonous grapevine varieties. Nevertheless, only couple of these are widely cultivated and have greater economic importance. Grape seeds are sources of polyphenols which play an important role in organoleptic and nutritional value of grape and wine. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the simple polyphenols from grape seeds in 20 rare autochthonous grapevine varieties.

Characterization of bunch compactness and identification of associated genes in a diverse collection of cultivars of Vitis vinifera L.

Compactness is a complex trait of V. vinifera L. and is defined ultimately by the portion of free space within the bunch which is not occupied by the berries. A high degree of compactness results in poor ventilation and consequently a higher susceptibility to fungal diseases, diminishing the quality of the fruit. The easiness to conceptualize the trait and its importance arguably contrasts with the difficulty to measure and quantify it. However, recent technical advancements have allowed to study this attribute more accurately over the last decade. Our main objective was to explore the underlying genetics determining bunch compactness by applying updated phenotyping methods in a collection of V. vinifera L. cultivars with a wide genetic diversity.