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.

Download the PDF

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…

Yeast derivatives: an innovative approach to produce Oenococcus oeni under biofilm form?

The malolactic fermentation can occur naturally or be induced by inoculation of selected bacterial strains, most commonly of Oenococcus oeni.

Read More

Application of grape pomace and stem extracts on Vitis vinifera L. cv. Monastrell: Increased stilbene content of grapes and wines

Pomace and grape stems are the main solid organic waste from winery industries, resulting from the pressing and/or fermentation processes it is generated in large amounts in many parts of the world

Read More

Sensory profile of wines obtained from disease-resistant varieties in La Rioja

The European wine industry is facing multiple challenges derived from climate change and the pressure of different fungal diseases that are compromising the production of traditional varieties. A sustainable alternative maybe the adoption of resistant varieties.
In this study, we have evaluated the enological potential of 9 resistant varieties (5 white and 4 red varieties) in La Rioja. Microvinifications were carried out with three biological replications. Oenological parameters were very diverse with acid content varying from 2.6 g/L to 6.6 g/L.

Read More

Classification of the wine-growing environment of Central Mancha (Spain). First works

This paper describes a zoning study performed on a vast territory of around 86,500 hectares, situated in the countryside area of La Mancha Central (Castilla-La Mancha). The aim of the study was to classify the environment according to a small number of ecological criteria, establish the relevant territorial units and generate thematic maps with the different levels of criteria employed and synthetic maps by crossing these criteria.

Read More

Les AOC : un frein ou un moteur à l’innovation ? Retour sur l’histoire économique, scientifique, sociale et technique des vins d’appellation au XXe siècle en France

At a time when the world’s winegrowing industry is having to adapt to a number of challenges, winegrowers are wondering about the consequent changes they will have to make (grape varieties, changes in vineyard and cellar techniques). For winegrowers and consumers alike, there is also the question of how these changes will affect the taste of their wines. This research, based on the study of numerous sources and archives from the 20th century, some of which have never been published before, aims to show that, in the recent past, the winegrowing world has shown incredible resilience in the face of crises, and that the taste and perception of fine wines has changed considerably in 100 years.

Read More