Terroir 2006 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Terroir and precision viticulture: are they compatible?

Terroir and precision viticulture: are they compatible?

Abstract

The concept of terroir or sense of place is almost as old as the wine industry. It is generally used as an all-encompassing term to reflect the effects of the biophysical environment in which grapes and their resultant wines are produced on the character of those wines. Historically, terroir has generally been considered at the regional or property scale. However, the recent development of Precision Viticulture promotes acquisition of a more informed sense of place by providing detailed measures of vineyard productivity, soil attributes and topography at high spatial resolution. Whilst associated research into vineyard variability lends weight to the concept of terroir in terms of biophysical impacts on grape and wine production, it also raises questions as to the scale at which terroir is a useful concept. These issues are explored using examples from the Padthaway and Sunraysia grapegrowing regions of Australia.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: January 12, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2006

Type: Article

Authors

R.G.V. BRAMLEY (1) and R.P. HAMILTON (2)

(1) CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Food Futures Flagship and Cooperative Research Centre for Viticulture PMB n°2, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
(2) Foster’s Wine Estates, PO Box 96, Magill, SA 5072, Australia

Contact the author

Keywords

Vineyard variability, spatial scale, Australia

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2006

Citation

Related articles…

Revealing the origins of old bordeaux wines using terpene quantification

The overall quality of fine wines is linked to the development of “bouquet” during wine bottle ageing (1). Bordeaux red wine ageing bouquet is defined by the association of several odours
Read More

Coming of age: do old vines actually produce berries with higher enological potential than young vines? A case study on the Riesling cultivar

Consumers and the wine industry tend to agree on the ability of old vines to produce fruit that allows the production of wine of superior character. However, despite past and ongoing research, objective evidence of this point of view is still debated and studies on robust, specifically dedicated plots are scarce. Thus the impact of grapevine age on berry oenological potential and wine quality remains an open question. To try to objectively address the issue, a unique vineyard was established at Geisenheim University, Germany. It was planted in 1971 with cv. Riesling grafted on 5C Teleki. In 1995 and 2012, several rows were uprooted and replanted with the same rootstock/scion combination, resulting in a vineyard with alternate rows of identical plant material, but with different planting dates. The parameters of technical maturity and grape composition at harvest were analyzed during seasons 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 combining HPLC and enzymatic methods. Separate micro-vinifications were made for each age group and wine composition was analyzed by a combination of 1H-NMR and SPE-GC-MS.

Read More

Producer organisations at the service of the favourable chain of values to winegrowers and winemakers: the example of France

French law and European Union law recognise the existence of interprofessional organisations that bring together all the links in the wine industry.

Read More

A multivariate clustering approach for a gis based territorial characterization of the montepulciano d’abruzzo DOCG “Colline Teramane”

The aim of the project was to characterize the Premium Denomination of Guaranteed Origin (DOCG) “Colline Teramane” wine-growing region and to delineate and define homogeneous zones (terroir units) within it, by applying a multivariate clustering approach combined with geomatics.

Read More

New use of natural silk fiber as a fining agent in wines

Undesirable compounds in wine, like OTA, biogenic amines, and pesticide residues, can negatively affect its quality and pose health risks to consumers. In addition, an excess of tannins can lead to an unpleasant rise in astringency and bitterness, which makes tannins another target of reduction.

Read More