Terroir 2008 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Radiative and thermal effects on fruit ripening induced by differences in soil colour

Radiative and thermal effects on fruit ripening induced by differences in soil colour

Abstract

One of the intrinsic parts of a vineyard “terroir” is soil type and one of the characteristics of the soil is it’s colour. This can differ widely from bright white, as for some calcareous soils, to red, as in “terra rossa” soils, or black, as in slate soils. The aim of this study was to assess how soil colour can influence vineyard microclimate and fruit properties including aroma precursors. After flowering, (BBCH 79) a loess-type soil (control) was covered with a thin layer of three different materials: a) black coarse slate, b) red clay brick, and c) white pumice. The vines (Vitis vinifera L. cvs. Riesling and Pinot noir) were trained to a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) system. Surface colour had significant effects on the quantity and quality of reflected radiation into the fruiting zone. The pumice covered soil showed the highest amount of reflected – and the highest ratio of red-to far red light, important in phytochrome mediated enzyme activity in the fruit.
Large thermal effects on soil surface temperature and on berry skin temperature were found. By varying the distance of clusters to the ground, the temperature of berry skins declined rapidly within the first 0.3 m when fruit was exposed to the red, white or natural coloured soil. In contrast, over coarse ground slate the absolute berry surface temperature was higher and remained constant over the same distances. Berry ripening was affected by surface colour and preliminary results indicate that altered vineyard microclimate has effects on berry composition.

DOI:

Publication date: December 8, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2008

Type : Article

Authors

M. STOLL (1), M. STUEBINGER (2), M. LAFONTAINE (1) and H. R. SCHULTZ (1,2)

(1) Fachgebiet Weinbau, Institut für Weinbau und Rebenzüchtung, Forschungsanstalt, D-65366 Geisenheim
(2) Fachhochschule Wiesbaden, Fachbereich Geisenheim, D-65366 Geisenheim

Contact the author

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2008

Citation

Related articles…

Screening of soil yeasts with fermentative capacity from the antarctic continent for their application in the wine industry

AIM: In the last years, many wineries are increasing experimentation to produce more distinguishable beverages. In this sense, the reduction of the fermentation temperature could be a useful tool because it preserves volatile compounds and prevents wines from browning, particularly in the case of white wines.

Influence of the type of flavonol and the presence of mannoproteins in the copigmentation with malvidin 3-O-glucoside

To study the copigmentation between different wine flavonols (myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin and syringetin 3-O-glucosides) and malvidin

Inhibition of Oenococcus oeni during alcoholic fermentation by a selected Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain

The use of selected cultures of the species Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in Oenology has grown in prominence in recent years. While initial applications of this species centred very much around malolactic fermentation (MLF), there is strong evidence to show that certain strains can be harnessed for their bio-protective effects. Unwanted spontaneous MLF during alcoholic fermentation (AF), driven by rogue Oenococcus oeni, is a winemaking deviation that is very difficult to manage when it occurs. This work set out to determine the efficacy of one particular strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum(Viniflora® NoVA™ Protect), against this problem in Cabernet Sauvignon must. The work was carried out at commercial scale and in a winery environment and compared the bio-protective culture with the more traditional approach of reducing must pH by the addition of tartaric acid. The combination of both was also investigated. The concentration of both Oenococcus oeni and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was determined using qPCR. The adventitious Oenococcus oeni showed the most growth during AF in the control wine, whereas in the wines treated with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum a bacteriostatic effect against this species was observed. This effect was comparable to the wines treated with tartaric acid. This has particular commercial relevance for controlling the flora in musts with high pH, or when the addition of tartaric acid is either not permitted or is prohibitive for other reasons.

Influence of the vineyard’s surrounding vegetation on the phenolic potential of Vitis vinifera L. cv Tempranillo grapes

Wine industry has to develop new strategies to reduce the negative impact of global climate change in wine quality while trying to mitigate its own contribution to this climate change. The term “ecosystem services”, whose use has been recently increasing, refers to the benefits that human beings can obtain from the interactions between the different living beings that coexist in an environment or system. The management of biodiversity in the vineyard has a positive impact on this crop. It has recently been reported that practices such as plant cover can reduce the occurrence of pests, increase pollination of the vine, improve plant performance1 and affect the phenolic content of grapes.2

Analytical and Chemometric Investigation of Phenolic Content of South African Red Wines

Phenolic compounds have been the focus of a lot of research in recent years for their important contribution to sensory characteristics of wine, their beneficial health effects, as well as the possibility they offer of characterising wines. In this contribution, a method is developed that allows the direct injection of wine samples followed by liquid