Phenological Study of 53 Spanish Minority Grape Varieties to Search for Adaptation of Vitiviniculture to Climate Change Conditions

Abstract

The main phenological stages (budburst, flowering, veraison, and ripeness) of 53 Spanish minority varieties were studied to determine their potential to help winegrowers adapt to climate change conditions. In total, 43 varieties were studied in the same location in Spain (Alcalá de Henares, in the Madrid region) and 10 varieties in 5 other regions (Galicia, Navarre, Catalonia, Extremadura, and Andalusia). Other traits of agronomic and oenological interest, such as yield and acidity, were also monitored. The results allow for the grouping of the varieties into several clusters according to the time of ripeness (very early—only for red varieties—and early, intermediate, and late, for both red and white varieties) and yield (high, medium, and low). The total acidity in the grape juice ranged from 3 to 11 g of tartaric acid/L. The average temperatures were higher (up to 3–4 °C during summer) compared to historical averages during the 1957–2021 time period. Advanced phenology phases and reduced acidity are regarded as negative effects of climate change for winegrowing practices. Since some minority varieties showed late or intermediate ripening, high acidity, and high (1 Kg/shoot) or medium (0.5 Kg/shoot) yield, our findings suggest that they may be cultivated in the coming years by winegrowers as an approach to mitigate climate change effects.

Phenological Evaluation of Minority Grape Varieties in the Wine Region of Madrid as a Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change

“…Among the main effects of climate change on vines are changes in the seasonality of the phenology, causing alterations in the thermal demand of plants and the duration of the periods of bud break, bloom, veraison, and harvest. As a result, a shortening of the bud-break-to-harvest cycle has been observed in many representative varieties in the most important wine regions of the world [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. However, a few decades ago, it was considered that increased temperature conditions would benefit the production and quality of wine in specific growing regions such as Bordeaux or Champagne [14] and California [15], where advances in phenological stages may occur due to increasingly higher thermal conditions during the winter in addition to reductions in the intensity and frequency of late frosts [2,16].…”

“…On the one hand, there is a shift towards the development of new wine regions in areas of higher latitude and altitude in Europe, which are experiencing increasingly temperate or warmer conditions suitable for vineyards and current varieties of cultivation [28,29]. There have been adjustments to pruning techniques, crop management, and pest and disease control according to these new conditions [11,13,27,[30][31][32]. On the other hand, the regional conservation of current vineyards has been considered, through the cultivation of adapted varieties, especially native ones that show tolerance and resistance to the new environmental conditions [9,30,32,33].…”

“…The conservation of grapevine varietal diversity in ampelographic collections facilitates a simultaneous evaluation of the adaptation of varieties to climate change in the same region and under the same environmental conditions. This can help winegrowers in adapting current production regions to climate change using their traditional varieties [13,29,30].…”

“…In 'El Encín' (Alcalá de Henares, Madrid), the largest varietal collection in Spain is preserved, constantly referenced, and updated using morphological and molecular characterization techniques [13,21,39]. Several authors have focused on the characterization of varieties conserved within collections.…”

Forcing vine regrowth under different irrigation strategies: effect on polyphenolic composition and chromatic characteristics of cv. Tempranillo wines grown in a semiarid climate

“…In order to maintain and/or improve the characteristics of the wines typical of each area, as well as to preserve the viability of vineyards, it is necessary to adapt them to the new climatic conditions. Such adaptation commonly involves decisions concerning vineyard topographic variables, as well as rootstock, variety, clone, training system, row orientation, and slope selection ( Torres et al., 2017 ; Díaz-Fernández et al., 2022 ; Gutiérrez-Gamboa et al., 2020 ; Muñoz-Organero et al., 2022 ).…”