Analysis of climate spatio-temporal variability in the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG wine district

Abstract

Local climate characterization is fundamental in terroir description, yet global change perspectives raise questions about its feasibility, since temporal stability cannot be no more assumed for the forthcoming years.
The objective of this work was to gain a better understanding of the climatic spatio-temporal variability of a grapevine growing area, and how this has changed during recent times.
Using as a case-study the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG wine district in North-Eastern Italy, we developed a methodology to downscale daily mean air temperature from the European Climate Assessment gridded dataset (E-OBS), to derive daily temperature surfaces at 500m spatial resolution. This allowed to analyse how the spatio-temporal variability affected grapevine phenology in the last 60 years.
The main results showed that, respect to the 1950-1979 period, the average Winkler index between 1980 and 2008 showed a +184 °C increase, with little spatial variation, as well as for the estimated dates for the main phenological events, which showed a generalized anticipation of about 2 to 5 days. More pronounced changes were observed on the interannual variability, which showed increases in both the average values and pattern of distribution.

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

G. Fila, F. Meggio, L.M. Veilleux, A. Pitacco

University of Padova, Department of Environmental Agronomy and Crop Science I-35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

Grapevine, Climate Change, Temperature, Phenology, Downscaling, Spatial Interpolation

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

The colour pattern of flower arrangements influence wine tasters’ sensory description

The arrangements of flowers and wine counterparts are inextricably linked. Whether a fundamental aspect of tablescaping or acolytes to broader entertainment rituals, they have an entangled history since ancient times. The aim of this contribution is to verify the influence of visually delicate and robust flower arrangements on individual description of wines. Changes in the sensory description of wines were investigated during subjects’ (thirty-two participants) exposure to three different conditions: the presence of delicate, robust, or totally absent flower arrangements.

La zonazione della D.O.C. Bolgheri (Castagneto C.): aspetti metodologici ed applicativi

The results of the first step of the zoning study carried out in Bolghery appellation area (Castagneto Carducci, Tuscany) in the 1993-1995 period have been recently published. Quality factors of Bolgheri appellation and different “terroirs ” were identified.

Innovative strategies for reducing astringency in Mandilaria wines 

Mandilaria, a red grape variety indigenous to the Aegean islands, is well known for its robust tannins and pronounced astringency, which can challenge the palatability and marketability of its wines. The aim of this study was the reduction of astringency in wines made exclusively from mandilaria grapes through dehydrations practices and targeted winery applications.

Evolution of cabernet sauvignon wines macerated with their own toasted vine-shoots

Toasted pruning vine-shoots represent a promising new enological tool for developing wines with chemical and organoleptic high quality, allowing that the resources of the vineyard to be returned to the wine through a “circular process”.

Study of varietal wines from the qualified origin denomination Rioja (Spain): analysis of wine colour, polysaccharides, polyphenols and biogenic amines and amino acides 

The cultivar with a greater oenological potential was ‘Monastel’, which showed overall better values than ‘Tempranillo’ in colour intensity, total polyphenol index, wine colour, total anthocyanins, resveratrol and gallic acid.