Terroir 2010 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 What is the best soil for Sangiovese quality wine?

What is the best soil for Sangiovese quality wine?

Abstract

Sangiovese is one of the main cultivar in the Italian ampelographic outline and it occupies more than 60% of total vineyard surface in the Tuscany region. It is also well known that the environmental variability causes an important influence over the viticultural and oenological results of Sangiovese, which does not have strict genetic control over the vegetal-productive behaviour.
The aim of this work was to single out the best soil characteristics for Sangiovese quality, on the basis of the vine performance of Sangiovese (VPS). For this purpose, a matching table, considering eight viticultural parameters, was utilized. The matching table permitted to classify the selected parameters into three classes of decreasing vine performance. A set of 79 experimental plots, sited on 47 farms, were utilized during a time span varying from two to five years (1989-1992; 1993-1994; 1997-2000; 2002-2007 and 2008-2009). Two datasets were created. One considering all the invariant soil and topography characteristics of the plots. The second, storing the year-depended variables. The data were submitted to principal component analysis (PCA) to highlight those invariant and year-depended climate and pedoclimate variables which were significantly correlated with the average values of the VPS of each vineyard. Discriminant Analysis was employed to identify the most significant variables and their discriminating power on VPS.
The results highlighted that invariant site characteristics are the most discriminant at the province level, while climate and pedoclimate show their influence on VPS at more detailed scales. At the province level, VPS is significantly influenced by rock fragments, stoniness, available water capacity (AWC), and elevation. The ideal soil for Sangiovese in the province of Siena is placed between 315 and 335 m asl, has an AWC ranging from 110 and 120 mm, shows a limited surficial stoniness of about 8-10%, and it is rather skeletal (rock fragments content 12-16%).
These results can be used in land evaluation and vine zoning, in particular, for the selection of the best crus of the province, they may help the choice of land for a new vine planting, but they might be also used in pedotechnique, that is, in the creation of vineyard soils by means of earth movements.

 

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

P. Bucelli (1), R. Barbetti (1), G. L’Abate (1), S. Pellegrini (1), P. Storchi (2), E.A.C. Costantini (1)

(1) Agricultural Research Council. Research Centre for Agrobiology and Pedology – Piazza M. D’ Azeglio, 30 – 50121 Firenze, Italy
(2) Agricultural Research Council. Research Unite for Viticulture – SOP – Via Romea 53 – 52020 Arezzo, Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

soil, climate, grape, red wine, Tuscany

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

Vino e paesaggio: materiali per il governo del territorio vitivinicolo. Il piano regolatore delle città del vino

S’intende per Piano Regolatore delle Città del Vino la metodologia per redigere la parte strutturale dello strumento comunale di governo del territorio. Parliamo, infatti, del principale strumento comunale di governo del territorio, così come è venuto maturando nella riflessione delle Città del Vino, strumento che si misura con la sfida di governare tutto il territorio in modo coerente e sostenibile, a partire dal riconoscimento del valore del “sistema vigneto” e della sua intrinseca fragilità.

Comparing different vineyard sampling densities and patterns for spatial interpolation of intrinsic water use efficiency

The need to rationalize agricultural inputs has recently increased interest in assessing vineyard variability in order to implement variable rate input applications, so-called ‘precision viticulture’. In many viticultural areas globally, precision viticulture is already widely used such as for selective harvesting and variable rate application (VRA) of inputs such as irrigation and/or fertilizer. Robust VRA relies on having a geostatistically accurate map (of one or more vineyard attributes) requiring high sampling densities, which can be cost- and time-prohibitive to obtain. Previous work on spatial interpolation using kriging have upscaled ground-based measurements, but such upscaling strategies are applicable only when vineyard conditions are spatially continuous and satisfies the assumption of second-order stationary processes. Alternatively, mixed models that combine kriging and auxiliary information, such as the regression kriging (RK) method, are more instructive for spatial predictions. In order to improve prediction accuracies, it is therefore necessary to incorporate additional information to achieve accurate spatial patterns with low error.

Valpolicella chemical pattern of aroma ‘terroir’ evolution during aging

Valpolicella is an Italian region famous for the production of high quality red wines. Wines produced in its different sub-regions are believed to be aromatically different, as confirmed by recent studies in our laboratory. Aging is a very common practice in Valpolicella and it is required by the appellation regulation for periods up to four years. The aim of this study was to investigate the evolution, during aging, of volatile chemical composition of Valpolicella wines obtained from grapes harvested in different sub-regions during different vintages.

Ten grapevine rootstocks: effects on vegetative development, production and grape quality of cv. Mencia in the d.o. Bierzo (Spain)

Grapevine rootstock is basic to achieve good adaptation of the vine to ground and environment.

Consequences of apical leaf removal on grapevine water status, heat damage, yield and grape ripening on Pinot n and Chardonnay

Climate change presents a significant challenge to grape growing worldwide as increased temperatures lead to wines with increased sugar and pH levels. Manipulation of the exposed leaf area is a powerful lever governing the assimilation and storage of non-structural carbohydrates in grapevines. Reducing the leaf-to-fruit ratio is now considered as a tool for adapting to hotter and dryer grape growing conditions.