Terroir 2008 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The influence of tertiary and quaternary deposits on the viticultural potential of the terroirs to be found in Geneva, Switzerland

The influence of tertiary and quaternary deposits on the viticultural potential of the terroirs to be found in Geneva, Switzerland

Abstract

The 1365 ha of the Genevese vineyard are located at the south-western corner of the Swiss plateau, between 395m and 505 m altitude. The vineyard is spread on quaternary deposits left behind after the melting of glaciers (12000 years BP) and tertiary molassic rocks (Chattien, 24 Ma). A soil map on the scale of 1:7500 was produced from 850 auger probes and 90 soil profiles. Based on this map, 69 parcels of Gamaret and Gamay are used as indicators to study the meso-climate and to follow the vines’ development. Thirty-seven parcels are equipped with temperature sensors at the depths of 2, 10 and 50 cm.
The glacial deposits are either made up of basal tills, mostly compacted, or by lateral and frontal stony tills more or less compacted or by glacio-lacustral and fluviatil deposits which show a textural composition going from clay to coarse gravel. The tertiary rocks present a succession of mudstone and sandstone stratas. The presence of these different deposits means there is great spatial variability. The textural and spatial variability are therefore present in the soils which developed from these parent materials.
More than half of the soils (55%) are located on basal or lateral tills. The glacio-lacustres and the tertiary rocks are to be found under 21 and 26 % of the soils respectively. Seven percent is situated on molasse with shallow till deposit. The CALCOSOLS, BRUNISOLS and LUVISOLS cover 63, 21 and 8 % of the surface respectively. Their clay, calcite and stone content differs widely. The deposits also influence the soils’ thermal and hydrological properties. The soils with excess of water are mostly located on fine textural deposits like mudstone and glacio-lacustral clay and on compacted tills The available water content goes from 50 to 250 mm. The plant behaviour is being observed in an on-going study to better under stand the meso-climate of the vineyard.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: December 8, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2008

Type : Article

Authors

BURGOS Stéphane, DAKHEL Nathalie and ALMENDROS Sébastien

Ecole d’ingénieurs de Changins, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland

Contact the author

Keywords

terroir, géologie, sols, climat, dépôts glaciaires

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2008

Citation

Related articles…

Vineyard nutrient budget and sampling protocols

Vineyard nutrient management is crucial for reaching production-specific quality standards, yet timely evaluation of nutrient status remains challenging. The existing sampling protocol of collecting vine tissue (leaves and/or petioles) at bloom or veraison is time-consuming. Additionally, this sampling practice is too late for in-season fertilizer applications (e.g. N is applied well before bloom). Therefore alternative early-season protocols are necessary to predict the vine nutrient demand for the upcoming season. The main goals of this project are to 1) optimize existing tissue sampling protocols; 2) determine the amount of nutrients removed at the end of the growing season.

Read More

Water dynamics of Touriga-Nacional grapevines trained in cordon and guyot systems under Mediterranean climate conditions

Aims: The aims of the present study were to (1) evaluate the water dynamics of Touriga-Nacional grapevines trained to spur pruned cordon and Guyot systems and (2) assess the effect of variable water availability in a commercial vineyard located in the Demarcated Douro Region (DDR), Portugal.

Read More

Drought responses of grapevine cultivars under different environments

Using grapevine genetic diversity is one of the strategies to adapt viticulture to climate change. In this sense, assessing the plasticity of cultivars in their responses to environmental conditions is essential. For this purpose, the drought tolerance of Grenache, Tempranillo and Semillon cultivars grafted onto SO4 was evaluated at two experimental vineyards, one located in Valencia (Spain) and the other in Bordeaux (France). This was done by assessing gas exchange parameters, water relations and leaf hydraulic traits at the end of the season.

Read More

Influence de l’ensoleillement sur la composante aromatique des baies de raisin

Syrah is a grape with weak aromatic expression. This atypical grape variety as a fruit allows the production of wines of great reputation for which the aromatic particularity plays an important role. The varietal aroma consists of volatile substances directly perceptible by the olfactory mucosa and of aroma precursors, of which the glycosides constitute an important class.

Read More

Sensory evaluation of ‘Sauvignon blanc’ grapes by a trained panel

The study described the effect of sensory analysis on commercial ‘Sauvignon blanc’ vineyards within the Stellenbosch Wine of Origin District. The sensorial evaluation of the berries was able to give a description of each parcel type and relate it to the cultural practices.

Read More