Temperature variations in the Walla Walla valley American Viticultural Area

Abstract

Variations in average growing season and ripening season temperatures within the Walla Walla Valley American Viticultural Area are related to elevation and regional and local topography. Downstream narrowing of the Walla Walla Valley creates a nocturnal cold air pool that is more pronounced during the August to October ripening season. Average growing season temperatures are generally higher and growing degree-days greater at lower elevations. Average temperatures increase with elevation to 450 m during the ripening season as temperature inversions become more pronounced and persistent. Cool air descending from the Blue Mountains lowers average growing and ripening season temperatures at sites near major streams. Adiabatic warming of down-sloping prevailing winds increases average growing season and ripening season temperatures near the base of Vansycle Ridge. Grapevines planted below 300 m have a much greater risk of damage from frosts and freezes. Variations in vineyard ground surface materials have no apparent effect on ambient air temperatures as measured by radiation shielded data loggers at a height of 1.5 m

DOI:

Publication date: December 8, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2008

Type : Article

Authors

Kevin R. POGUE and Gregory M. DERING

Department of Geology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA 99362 USA

Contact the author

Keywords

Walla Walla Valley, temperature, elevation, topography, growing degree-day

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2008

Citation

Related articles…

Enhancing viticulture sustainability with biochar: results of field experiments in Italy

The increasing vulnerability of viticulture to climate change necessitates innovative solutions to improve its sustainability and resilience.

Investigation on the potentiality of a biostimulant by Fabaceae tissues and rich in triacontanol to enhance grapevine resilience under drought stress

The primary objective of this research was to investigate the potential benefits of a Fabaceae-based product rich in triacontanol (a long-chain alcohol) applied to Vitis vinifera cv. Merlot, on key physiological and productive parameters of grapevines under controlled water stress conditions.

Combined abiotic-biotic plant stresses on the roots of grapevine

In the 19th century, devastating outbreaks of phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch), almost brought European viticulture to its knees. Phylloxera does not only take energy in form of sugars from the vine, but also affects the up- and down- regulations of genes, acts as a carbon sink and reprograms the physiology of the grapevines, including nutrient uptake and the defense system [1]. A key trait of rootstocks is the ability to perform well under high lime conditions as about 30 % of the land surface has calcareous soil. Iron deficiency not only causes the well-known problems of lime-induced chlorosis and stunted growth, but also affects the entire plant metabolism.

Validation of the viticulture zoning methodology applied to determine the homogenous soil units present on D.O. Ribera de Duero region

The methodology to viticulture zoning developed and proposed by Gómez-Miguel and Sotés (1992) has been studied in order to validate it. This was the main aim of this work

Differential gene expression and novel gene models in 110 Richter uncovered through RNA Sequencing of roots under stress

The appearance of the Phylloxera pest in the 19th century in Europe caused dramatical damages in grapevine diversity. To mitigate these losses, grapevine growers resorted to using crosses of different Vitis species, such as 110 Richter (110R) (V. berlandieri x V. rupestris), which has been invaluable for studying adaptations to stress responses in vineyards. Recently, a high quality chromosome scale assembly of 110R was released, but the available gene models were predicted without using as evidence transcriptional sequences obtained from roots, that are crucial organs in rootstock, and they may express certain genes exclusively. Therefore, we employed RNA sequencing reads of 110R roots under different stress conditions to predict new gene models in each haplotype of 110R under different stresses.