Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2016 9 Climates of Wine Regions Worldwide 9 Mapping climate and bioclimatic indices at high-resolution in vineyard regions

Mapping climate and bioclimatic indices at high-resolution in vineyard regions

Abstract

Many of the world’s vineyard regions are located in regions of complex terrain, with the result there is significant local climate variation. The range of climatic conditions provides the opportunity for wine producers to readily adapt to the increasing influence of global warming on wine production by adjusting grape varieties and management practices to suit local environmental conditions. However, to allow this to happen, knowledge of fine scale variations in climate in vineyard regions needs to be improved. Our recent research has demonstrated that mesoscale atmospheric numerical models can be used to provide a good representation of the small-scale variations of climate in such regions of complex terrain. They are particularly useful for mapping mean daily temperature, which is the main variable used to derive bioclimatic indices of relevance to grapevine growth (such as the Huglin, Winkler, Grapevine Flowering Véraison and cool nights indices).

This paper provides examples of recent research in which the Weather Research and Forecasting climate model has been used to improve our understanding of climate variability at high spatial (1 km and less) and temporal (hourly) resolution within vineyard regions of different terrain complexity (e.g. in South Africa, New Zealand and France). Model performance is evaluated through comparison with automatic weather stations. The model output is used to investigate the spatial variability of derived bioclimatic indices and climatic hazards such as the occurrence of late frost, at high resolution across vineyard regions. Further analysis has also provided useful insights into grapevine response to spatial variability of climate through the prediction and mapping of dates of the key phenological stages of flowering and véraison.”.

DOI:

Publication date: June 22, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Andrew Sturman (1), Peyman Zawar-Reza (1), Iman Soltanzadeh (2), Marwan Katurji (1), Valérie Bonnardot (3), Amber Parker (4), Mike Trought (5), Hervé Quénol (3), Renan Le Roux (3), Eila Gendig (6) and Tobias Schulmann (7)

(1) Centre for Atmospheric Research, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
(2) MetService, Wellington, New Zealand
(3) LETG-Rennes COSTEL, UMR 6554 CNRS, Université Rennes 2, Rennes, France
(4) Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand
(5) Plant & Food Research Ltd., Marlborough Wine Research Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand
(6) Department of Conservation, Christchurch, New Zealand
(7) Catalyst, Christchurch, New Zealand

Contact the author

Keywords

Terroir, climate, bioclimatic indices, mapping, zoning

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Impact of high temperatures on phenolic profile of Babić grapes

Babić is a Croatian native grapevine variety grown in the Coastal region, mainly in the Šibenik and Primošten areas, famous for high quality red wines. The region is known for its warm Mediterranean climate and karst relief. Vineyards are found on the hillsides of varying slopes and exposition usually giving low yields of exceptional quality.

Read More

Berry carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic ratio reflects within farm terroir diffferences

ÂThe natural abundance of carbon stable isotopes has been reported to be related to water availability in grapevines quite widely. In the case of nitrogen, the natural abundance of its stable isotopes is mainly affected by the nature of the source of nitrogen (organic vs. inorganic) used by the plant, though the bibliography available for grapevine is very scarce.

Read More

Influence of social interaction levels on panel effectiveness in developing wine sensory profiles using consensus method

The development of sensory profiles is crucial for quality control and innovation in the wine industry. If quantitative descriptive analysis is the most commonly used method for establishing sensory profiles due to its robustness, it presents significant limitations.

Read More

Oak wood seasoning: impact on oak wood chemical composition and sensory quality of wine

Oak wood selection and maturation are essential steps in the course of barrel fabrication. Given the existence of many factors involved in the choice of raw material and in natural seasoning of oak wood, it is very difficult to determine the real impact of seasoning and selection factors on oak wood composition. A sampling was done to study the evolution of oak wood chemical composition during four seasoning steps: non matured, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months. For this sampling, three selection factors were taken into account: age, grain type and the Polyphenolic Index measured by Oakscan®. Besides extractables
(~10%), three polymers constitute the main part of oak wood: cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignins.

Read More

EFFECTS OF LEAF REMOVAL AT DIFFERENT BUNCHES PHENOLOGICAL STAGES ON FREE AND GLYCOCONJUGATE AROMAS OF SKINS AND PULPS OF TWO ITALIAN RED GRAPES

Canopy-management practices are applied in viticulture to improve berries composition and quality, having a great impact on primary and secondary grape metabolism. Among these techniques, cluster zone leaf removal (defoliation) is widely used to manage air circulation, temperature and light radiation of grape bunches and close environment. Since volatiles are quantitatively and qualitatively influenced by the degree of fruit ripeness, the level of solar exposure, and the thermal environment in which grapes ripen, leaf removal has been shown to affect volatile composition of grape berries [1].

Read More