Terroir 2010 banner

Analysis of the daily minimum temperatures variability in the Casablanca Valley, Chile

Abstract

The Casablanca Valley (CV) has a complex topography and is located near the Pacific Ocean. These factors generate important climatic differences in relation to other wine producing zones of Central Chile. The air temperature is one of the most important atmospheric variables in viticulture by its influence on the vine development and the quality of the grapes and wines. In this work, the minimum temperature has been studied using a set of meteorological stations to make a comparative climatology between the CV and surrounding viticultural zones, and also with data from an agrometeorological network inside the CV, to make a local comparison applying the Principal Component Analysis. The synoptic configurations were analyzed for the higher and lower minimum temperatures. The comparison with the surrounding zones shows that the CV has differences in the annual cycle of the minimum temperatures (amplitude and extremes values). Its minimum temperature anomalies are less correlated with the more continental stations, and the differences are statistically more marked and are increasing with growing season. The analysis inside de CV shows low differences, with a 93% of the variance explained by the first principal component, but some oceanic influence exists. The analysis shows that the valley has a well differentiated regime of minimum temperatures compared with other wine-producing zones, noticeable in the warm period. Inside the CV there is a low spatial variability, with an important synoptic control, and it is possible to describe some gradient along the ocean proximity.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

Carlo Montes

Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA)

Raúl Bitrán S/N, La Serena, Chile

Contact the author

Keywords

Minimum temperature, temperature variability, terroir, viticultural zoning

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

Influence of dehydration and maceration conditions on VOCs composition and olfactory profile of Moscato Bianco passito sweet wine

Among the Vitis vinifera L. cv. Moscato, Moscato Bianco is the oldest and most cultivated one in Europe (1). According to the OIV Focus 2015, Italy is the country with the largest cultivated area of Moscato Bianco with about 12500 hectares (2), that is used to produce well-known wines (i.e., Moscato Passito in Piedmont, Moscato di Trani in Puglia, and Moscatello di Montalcino in Tuscany), mainly obtained from partially dehydrated grapes (1). Different dehydration techniques can strongly modify the chemical compounds of oenological interest, among which Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) (1) that are the main responsible for the varietal sensory character of the final wine.

Read More

Chemical profiling and sensory analysis of wines from resistant hybrid grape cultivars vs conventional wines

Recently, there has been a shift toward sustainable wine production, according to EU policy (F2F and Green Deal), to reduce pesticide usage, improve workplace health and safety, and prevent the impacts of climate change. These trends have gained the interest of consumers and winemakers. The cultivation of disease resistant hybrid grape cultivars (DRHGC), known as ‘PIWI’ grapes can help with these objectives [1]. This study aimed to profile white and red wines produced from DRHGC in South Tyrol (Italy). Wines produced from DRHGCs were compared with conventional wines produced by the same wineries. The measured parameters were residual sugars, organic acids, alcohol content, pigments and other phenolics by LC-QqQ/MS, colorimetric indexes (CIELab); and volatile profiles (HS-SPME-GCxGC-ToF/MS [2]).

Read More

Inert gases persistence in wine storage tank blanketing

It is common to find tanks in the winery with wine below their capacity due to wine transfers between tanks of different capacities or the interruption of operations for periods of a few days. This situation implies the existence of an ullage space in the tank with prolonged contact with the wine causing its absorption/oxidation. Oxygen uptake from the air headspace over the wine due to differences in the partial pressure of O2 can be rapid, up to 1.5 mL of O2 per liter of wine in one hour and 100 cm2 of surface area1 and up to saturation after 4 hours.

Read More

Oak wood influence on the organoleptic perception of red wine

Some wood substances such as ellagitannins (vescalagin, castalagin, grandinin, roburins (A, B, C, D, E)…) can be extracted during wine ageing in oak barrels. The level of these hydrolysable tannins in wine depends of the species and origin of oak wood as well as its treatment during barrel realization.

Read More

Viticultural zoning applications at the detailed scale of a cooperative winery: terroirs in St­hilaire-d’Ozilhan (AOC Côtes-du-Rhône)

La maîtrise de la typicité du vin s’élabore au niveau local ou communal d’une exploitation viticole et/ou d’une cave, unité de vinification. La cave coopérative de Saint-Hilaire­-d’Ozilhan (AOC Côtes-du-Rhône), dont le territoire communal s’étend sur une superficie de 1 670 ha, couvre près de 310 ha cultivés en vigne. Elle réalise des vinifications «au terroir», en utilisant des regroupements d’unités de sol en 9 unités de terroir potentiellement viticoles, définies en s’appuyant sur la parenté des substrats. Diverses sélections d’une même unité peuvent aboutir aussi à des vins différents, ce qui suggère une hétérogénéité spatiale de certaines unités définies.

Read More