Terroir 2010 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Effects of post-veraison irrigation dose on Cabernet-Sauvignon vines in a dry and warm season in Valencia, Spain

Effects of post-veraison irrigation dose on Cabernet-Sauvignon vines in a dry and warm season in Valencia, Spain

Abstract

In the old-world viticulture, there is a common but most often not scientifically proved consideration that supplemental irrigation should detrimentally affect berry and wine composition. In the semi-arid and warm climate of in-land Valencia we tested the hypothesis that deficit irrigation might, not only improve yield, but also fruit composition. The experiment was performed with Cabernet Sauvignon vines at the Celler del Roure SL vineyard, located in the D.O. Valencia. Rainfed vines were compared with three different post-veraison irrigation regimes with water application at either 10, 20, or 30% of reference evapotranspiration, resulting in water application of 26, 34 and 57, mm respectively. The experimental design was a randomised block with three replicates per treatment and 308 experimental vines per experimental plot. The experiment was conducted in the very dry and warm 2009 season, with substantial no rainfall from august up to harvest and average temperature during ripening of 24ºC. Rain-fed vines experienced quite severe plant water stress with an average midday stem water potential of -1.45 MPa. Supplemental irrigation improved plant water status and increased yield in proportion to the amount of water applied mostly because irrigation avoided berry and whole clusters dehydration that occurred in the rainfed vines during ripening. The most important effect of irrigation was to avoid the excessive increase in berry sugar content that, at the right phenolic ripening time, reached in the rainfed treatment up to 16.5º of probable alcohol. Irrigation did not affect must acidity and improved berry quality determined with a berry tasting panel. In addition the supplemental irrigation did not decrease total berry phenolic and anthocyanin potential. On the other hand irrigation slightly decreased the extractable values. This suggests that different maceration procedures should be applied depending on grape origin. Under very dry and warm seasons, irrigation can be used to mitigate the negative effect of low plant water status on berry dehydration and unbalanced ripening.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

I. Gómez (1), J. Ortega (2), I. Álvarez (3), M.J. García-Esparza (3), D. S. Intrigliolo (4)

(1) Tresge Wine Consulting S.L., Ctra. Malilla 25-20, 46026 Valencia, Spain
(2) Celler del Roure SL. , Ctra. Les Alcusses, Km 2.5, 46640 Moixent, Valencia, Spain
(3) Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Dept Tecnología de los Alimento, Camino de Vera s/n, Valencia, Spain
(4) Instituto Valenciano Investigaciones Agrarias. Centro Agricultura Sostenible. Apartado oficial 46113, Moncada, Valencia, Spain

Contact the author

Keywords

Deficit irrigation, phenolics, total soluble solids, yield

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

Atypical aging and hydric stress: insights on an exceptionally dry year

Atypical aging (ATA) is a white wine fault characterized by the appearance of notes of wet rag, acacia blossoms and naphthalene, along with the vanishing of varietal aromas. 2-aminoacetophenone (AAP) – a degradation compound of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) – is regarded as the main sensorial and chemical marker responsible for this defect. About the origin of ATA, a stress reaction occurring in the vineyard has been looked as the leading cause of this defect. Agronomic, climatic and pedological factors are the main triggers and among them, drought stress seems to play a crucial role.[1]

Read More

Effect of concentration and competition between different fungicide residues on the adsorption efficiency of activated vegetal fibres for treatment of wine

Vineyards are strongly exposed to fungal diseases, attacks from insects and competition with weeds. Most treatments used on grape vines contain synthetic active substances, which may be transferred to the wine. Such pesticides have a negative image because many active substances are potential health hazards. A specific oenological treatment allowing the reduction of pesticide residues in wine based on activated vegetable fibres (AVF) is under examination by the International Organisation for Vine and Wine. This technique works efficiently and alters the wine only little (Lempereur et al. 2014).

Read More

Pesticide – Free viticulture: towards agroecological wine-producing socio-ecosystems

Can we cultivate grapevine without pesticides? This is a huge challenge for this emblematic crop, which is one of the largest users of plant protection products. Pesticides are mainly used to protect the vine against leaf diseases (powdery mildew, mildew, black-rot), even in organic farming, which uses copper in particular. What are the research avenues that can help eliminate pesticides today?

Read More

Peptidomics in the wine industry: literature perspectives on functional importance and analytical methods

Winemaking is a globally significant industry in the field of food technology (218 mhL of wine estimated for 2024 harvest) [1], which activity produces tons of by-products annually, including pomace (pulp, stems, seeds, skins), lees, organic acids, CO2, and water [2].

Read More

A research agenda for terroir: an empirical, international expert study

Aim: Terroir is a French concept relating the qualities and quality of agricultural products to their physical and socio-cultural place of origin. It is increasingly used by business and policymakers as a marketing technique to provide economic benefits (e.g. Lenglet, 2014; Wine Australia, 2015), and to potentially preserve cultural heritage (e.g. Bauer, 2009) and the environment (e.g. Bowen, 2010)

Read More