A GIS Analysis of New Zealand Terroir

Face à la concurrence mondiale, il est indispensable de s’orienter vers des vins de qualité, marqués par une typicité et une authenticité inimitables. Le terroir représente, pour une région donnée, un patrimoine unique et non reproductible, qui peut être valorisé à travers l’origine et les caractéristiques sensorielles du vin.

Aims: The aims of this study are to determine the influences of the local geology, mineralogy and geochemistry of surroundings, substrate and soil on the cultivation of vines, these as an additional factor of specificity and locality in the production of wine and definition of terroir, as well as for the discrimination of local variance of substrate and soil properties for the strategic management of cultivation plots and/or the evaluation of new cultivation regions, necessary within a scope of global climate change.

Despite the numerous research studies carried out in recent years, the study of wine aroma remains of great interest due to its complexity. Wine maturation in oak barrels is described as an important step in the production of quality wines. In fact, oak wood develops several aromatic nuances through its toasting which can be released into the wine. A great deal of work has been performed in order to identify the wood-derived volatile compounds that contribute to wine aroma (e.g., whisky-lactone, maltol, eugenol, guaiacol, vanillin).

More frequent and extreme temperatures and droughts pose challenges to the wine sector in Mediterranean Europe. Soil is crucial to sustain the equilibrium of ecosystems, economic growth and people’s prosperity worldwide. In viticulture, soils are a major component of the terroir and do influence vine’s growth, yield and berry composition. Soil temperature (ST) affects soil´s physical, chemical and biological processes and also crop growth. The impact of ST becomes even stronger when dealing with row crops such as grapevine, when considering the increased exposition to radiation. However, the impact of ST on crop performance remains poorly described, especially for extreme climatic conditions.

It is important nowadays for wine producers to create a product that is an expression of their terroir, a concept including the interaction between a place (topography, climate, soil), the people (tradition, winemaking and viticultural practices) and the resulting product (grape varieties, wines) [1]. Nonetheless, wine’s typicity linked to those terroirs must be easily recognizable by consumers thanks to distinctive sensory characters and composition [2]. Among the compounds of interest, aromatic compounds and polyphenols play an important role in the quality of red wines, by impacting on the odour, color and astringency. To explore the influence of terroir factors, including climate, soil and human practices, on the chemical and sensory profile of wines, red wines from five terroirs of the Corbières appellation were subjected to a general study approach.