Climate change – variety change?

Abstract

In Franconia, the northern part of Bavaria in Germany, climate change, visible in earlier bud break, advanced flowering and earlier grape maturity, leads to a decrease of traditionally cultivated early ripening aromatic white wine varieties as Mueller-Thurgau (30 % of the wine growing area) and Bacchus (12 %). With the predicted rise of temperature in all European wine regions the conditions for white wine grape varieties will decline and the grapes themselves will lose a part of their aromatic and fruity expression. Variety change towards the cultivation of later ripening white wine varieties is a very expensive and long-term process, and must be accompanied by special marketing efforts.
In the “cool climate” region Franconia, adapted methods are required for the longer use of traditionally grown aromatic early ripening varieties. Studies about maturity management of the early ripening variety Mueller-Thurgau show first results. Cordon pruning compared with traditional spur pruned training system, leads in dependence of botrytis infection to a maturity delay of 4 up to 6 days. The new natural growth training system, also called “minimal pruning”, results in a maturity delay of 8 up to 12 days in the same varieties.
Later grape harvest times economize energy for must cooling and fermentation control. Lower night temperatures can better conserve the fresh and fruity flavours of these aromatic grapes. The consequences of maturity retardation effects on must and wine quality will be studied.

DOI:

Publication date: November 23, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

Arnold Schwab, Ulrike Maaß

Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture, An der Steige 15, D-97332 Veitshöchheim

Contact the author

Keywords

Climate change, Franconia, earlier harvest time, variety change, canopy management

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

The impact of global warming on Ontario’s icewine industry

Ontario’s wine regions lie at the climatic margins of commercial viticulture owing to their cold winters and short cool growing season. The gradual warming of northern latitudes projected under a human-induced climate change scenario could bring mixed benefits to these wine regions.

Relation entre les caractéristiques des fromages d’Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée et les facteurs de production du lait

Les fromages d’Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) représentent un enjeu économique important pour la filière laitière (11 % des fromages produits en France sont des fromages d’AOC, et dans certaines régions de montagne, cette proportion dépasse 50 %). Les spécificités de ces fromages et leurs liaisons avec les caractéristiques du terroir constituent un système complexe où interagissent en particulier la technologie fromagère et les caractéristiques des laits (composition chimique en particulier). Ces dernières dépendent elles-mêmes des caractéristiques des animaux (origine génétique, facteurs physiologiques, état sanitaire) et de leur mode de conduite (alimentation, hygiène, traite…) (fig. 1). L’influence de ces facteurs de production (alimentation et type d’animal en particulier) sur les caractéristiques des fromages est fréquemment mise en avant par les fromagers, sur la base d’observations empiriques. Il existe cependant très peu de travaux expérimentaux sur le sujet, en raison, entre autres, de la difficulté de séparer correctement les effets propres de ces facteurs d’amont de ceux liés à la technologie fromagère.

Spontaneous fermentation dynamics of indigenous yeast populations and their effect on the sensory properties of Riesling

Varietal Riesling aroma relies strongly on the formation and liberation of bound aroma compounds. Floral monoterpenes, green C6-alcohols, fruity C13-norisoprenoids and spicy volatile phenols are predominantly bound to disaccharides, which are produced and stored in the grape berry during berry maturation. Grape processing aims to extract maximum amount of the precursors from the berry skin to increase the potential for a strong varietal aroma in the wine. Subsequent yeast selection plays an important part in this process.

Electromagnetic conductivity mapping and harvest zoning: deciphering relationships between soil and wine quality

Using electromagnetic conductivity mapping and GIS technology, we identified two unique soil zones within a 0.8-hectare Cabernet Franc block in central Virginia, USA.

A worldwide perspective on viticultural zoning

Cet article répertorie les intérêts et problèmes du zonage viticole dans une perspective mondiale. Le zonage est un besoin pour chacun des vignobles mondiaux où il correspond à des applications, définitions et approches variées. Les objectifs du zonage changent de concert avec les besoins du marché mondial du vin, qui ne cesse de croître.