Terroir 2008 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2008 9 Global approach and application of terroir studies: product typicity and valorisation 9 Mesoclimate and Topography influence on grape composition and yield in the AOC Priorat

Mesoclimate and Topography influence on grape composition and yield in the AOC Priorat

Abstract

The Priorat AOC, which is situated behind the coastal mountain range of Tarragona, is characterised by a Mediterranean climate that tends towards continentality and has very little precipitation during the vegetation cycle. The soil is poor quality, dry and pebbly, and made up of schist. To measure how topographie and mesoclimate affects the qualitative potential of Grenache in the Priorat, we evaluated the changes on grape composition during ripening and at harvest. The study was carried out during the 2002 (temperate) and 2003 (warm) vintages and the trial was performed in 8 plots: two villages in two different mesoclimates were selected, early and late ripening and, two different terraces in each village, topographically located up and down of the slope. Alcohol degree, acidity, pH, skin anthocyanins, the anthocyanin content in the berry and the berry weight were sampled and analyzed during maturity. Yield was determined at harvest. Sugar content increased in early regions and cooler vintage, however, in late regions, the noticeable increase happened in the warmer vintage. Extractable anthocyanins in berries increased during ripening in early region and cooler vintage, nevertheless, the accumulation stopped o decrease a week before harvest in the warmest regions. The plot located in high altitude (late region) didn’t attaint the complete maturity as such showed the low anthocyanin concentration. Topography effects revealed higher concentration of anthocyanins, low yield and low berry weight associated to the terraces located in the up side of the hill in temperate vintage. The warm vintage affects grape composition decreasing anthocyanins and yields. No effect was found comparing early and late regions for both, yield and vintage.

DOI:

Publication date: December 8, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2008

Type : Article

Authors

Nadal MONTSE, Mateos SUMPTA, Miriam LAMPREAVE

Dept de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia. Facultat d’Enologia de Tarragona. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Campus Sescelades, Marcel·lí Domingo, s/n, 43007 Tarragona

Contact the author

Keywords

Terroir, topographie, mesoclimate, grape composition, yield, Priorat

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2008

Citation

Related articles…

Influence of weather and climatic conditions on the viticultural production in Croatia

The research includes an analysis of the impact of weather conditions on phenological development of the vine and grape quality, through monitoring of four experimental cultivars (Chardonnay, Graševina, Merlot and Plavac mali) over two production years. In each experimental vineyard, which were evenly distributed throughout the regions of Slavonia and The Croatian Danube, Croatian Uplands,

First step in the preparation of a soil map of the Protected Designation of Origin Valdepeñas (Central, Spain)

This work is a first step to make a map of vineyard soils. The characterization of the soils of the Protected Designation of Origin (D.P.O.) Valdepeñas will allow to group the studied profiles according to their physico-chemical characteristics and the concentrations of most relevant chemical elements. 90 soil profiles were analysed throughout the territory and the soils were sampled and described according to FAO (2006) and classified according to and Soil Taxonomy (2014). All samples were air dried, sieved and some physico-chemical parameters were determined following standard protocols. Also, major and trace elements were analysed by X-ray fluorescence. The statistically study was made using the SPSS program. Trend maps were made using the ArcGIS program. The studied soils have the following average properties: pH, 8.3; electrical conductivity, 0,20 dS/m (low); clay, 18.8% (medium) and CaCO3, 17.1% (high). In the study for the major elements. The major elements of these soils are Si, followed by Ca and Al, with an average content of 203.7 g/kg, 105.5 g/kg and 74.0 g/kg respectively. On the other hand, 27 trace elements have been studied. Of all of them, it can be highlighted the average values of Ba (361.8 mg/kg), Sr (129.3 mg/kg), Rb (83.4 mg/kg), V (74.2 mg/kg) and Ce (70.6 mg/kg). Ba, V and Ce values are higher and the values of Sr and Rb are lower to those found in the literature. The discriminant analysis shows a percentage of grouping of 91%. The content of chemical elements together with the physico-chemical characteristics allows grouping the soils in 4 group according to their order in the classification to Soil Taxonomy; due to the importance of the Calcisols in Castilla-La Mancha, it has been decided to establish them as their own group even if they do not appear in Soil Taxonomy classification.

Local adaptation tools to ensure the viticultural sustainability in a changing climate

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Impact of changes in pruning practices on vine growth and yield

A gradual decline in vineyards has been observed over the past twenty years worldwide. This might be explained by the climate change, practices change or the increase of dieback diseases. To increase the longevity of vines, we studied the impact of different pruning strategies in four adult and four young vineyards located in France and Spain. In France, vineyards were planted with Cabernet franc on 3309C while Spanish trials were planted with Tempranillo grafted on 110R. Vegetative expression, yield, quality of berries and wood vessels conductivity were measured. The distribution of vegetative expression, yield and berry composition between primary and secondary vegetation were quantified. Finally, tomography was used to evaluate the implication of the treatments on sap flows.
First results show that i) the respectful pruning leads to an increase of 30 to 50% more secondary shoots than the aggressive pruning in France and between 15 and 20% in Spain, ii) there is no major effect on the yield over the first two years following the implementation of the new pruning practices, although the proportion of clusters from suckers is higher on the respectful pruning method. On young vines, the development of the trunk according to a respectful pruning leads to a loss of harvest 2 years after planting. This is due to the removal, on the future trunk, of the green suckers which carrying bunches. This operation carried out in spring rather than during winter pruning, would promote a better leaf / fruit balance when the plant comes into production, and could lead to better hydraulic conduction in the vessels of the trunk. Maintaining these trials for several years will provide more robust data to assess the impact of these practices on the vines over the long term.

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.