Zonazione e vitigni autoctoni nel sud della Basilicata: metodologie integrate per la caratterizzazione di ambienti di elezione di biotipi storici finalizzati a vini di territorio nella DOC “Terre dell’Alta Val d’Agri”

Climate plays a predominant role in vines’ growth and productivity and several environmental variables are already known to pose challenges to grapevine production and the horticultural industry as a whole. In this context, a number of extreme weather events already occurring and expected to occur in the next decades even more frequently and with higher magnitude results from current climate change scenario. The aim of this study was to examine the physiological responses of roots, leaves, and berries of Vitis vinifera cv. Sauvignon blanc to consecutive and combined stressors simulated in a semi-controlled environment.

Global warming is one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats in several viticultural regions. In the Douro Valley, changes are expected in the coming years, namely an increase in temperature and a decrease in precipitation. These changes are likely to have consequences for the production and quality of wine.
The aim of this study was to explore the effects of different soil characteristics combined with several deficit irrigation strategies, managed throughout ETc references and predawn leaf water potentials thresholds, on physiology, yield, and qualitative attributes on the Touriga Nacional variety under years of mild to severe water and heat stress.
The studies were conducted over seven years (2015 to 2021) in two plots of a commercial vineyard located at Quinta do Ataíde (Symington Family Estates) planted in 2011 and 2014 at 170 meters elevation, growing under three water regimes: non-irrigated (NI) and two deficit irrigation strategies (30% and 60% ETc) assessed weekly by Ψpd. The site has an annual rainfall below 500 mm, with high atmospheric demand. Climate data was collected from a weather station, located on site. Berry ripening was followed weekly for fruit analysis. At harvest, yield, vigour and pruning weight per vine were determined from 90 vines by treatment. Each season at veraison the NDVI Index was accessed by a drone. The soils physic-chemistry in the experimental blocs were analysed and grouped by SWHC. Delta C-13 analyses were also performed per treatment in two years.Irrigation had a positive effect on yield per vine, mostly due to an increase in berry and cluster weight, and fertility index through the years. A significant increase in sugar content, colour and phenols was observed with deficit irrigation in some years, but vine vigour related to soil characteristics had by far the greatest impact on quality.

Climate change effects on grapevine phenology and grape primary and secondary metabolites are well described in recent literature. Increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves may be responsible for important yield losses in the future. However, the impact of this event is not so well described in literature. The present study highlights the importance of grape variety tolerance as a mitigation tool to climate change.

Planting vineyards in cooler climates has been used over recent years as
a strategy to counter the climatic shifts caused by climate change. A move towards higher altitudes in hilly and mountainous wine regions may provide a solution to deleterious effects that increased ambient temperatures have on wine quality. Until now, the influences of higher altitudes and their climates, as well as their effect on vine growing cycles, still holds a lot of scientific uncertainty. The transnational EU-funded project REBECKA (Interreg V-A IT-AT: ITAT1002, duration: 2017-2019) has the objective to develop a regional valuation method to rate the suitability for viticulture in South Tyrol (Italy) and Carinthia (Austria). Preliminary surveys were performed regarding the effects of altitude on ripening performance of the cultivar Pinot Noir.

The research examines how two characteristic cultivations of a territory like the vine and the hazelnut shape the identity of a unique terroir: Langhe (North West italy).