Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationship between viticultural climatic indices and grape maturity in Australia

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Biometeorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Historical temperature data and maturity records were analyzed for 45 vineyard blocks in 15 winegrowing regions across Australia in order to evaluate the suitability of common viticultural indices to estimate date of grape maturity. Five temperature-based viticultural indices (mean January temperature, mean growing season temperature, growing degree days, biologically effective degree days, Huglin Index) along with four springtime temperature indices (mean and maximum temperature summations for September, October, and November; growing degree days and biologically effective degree days modified to include September) were compared to maturity data in order to investigate index relationship to observed maturity timing. Daily heat summations for the months of September, October, and November showed the best correlation to day of year of maturity, suggesting that springtime temperatures are important relative to the timing of grape maturity. Mean January temperature, a commonly used index, had the poorest correlation with day of year of maturity of all the indices included in this study. Indices that included the month of April had poorer correlation than indices that shifted the months included in the growing season to be from September to March inclusive. Calculated index values for the past 30 years for every region included in this study showed increasing temporal trends to various degrees, indicating that all regions studied are experiencing warming temperatures during the growing season. These results emphasize the need to reevaluate viticultural indices in the context of a changing climate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amerine MA, Winkler AJ (1944) Composition and quality of musts and wines of California grapes. Hilgard 15:493–673

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blanco-Ward D, Queijeiro JMG, Jones GV (2007) Spatial climate variability and viticulture in the Mino River Valley of Spain. VITIS-Journal of Grapevine Reserach 46(2):63–70

  • Bock A, Sparks T, Estrella N, Menzel A (2011) Changes in the phenology and composition of wine from Franconia, Germany. Clim Res 50(1):69–81

  • Camps JO, Ramos MC (2012) Grape harvest and yield responses to inter-annual changes in temperature and precipitation in an area of north-east Spain with a Mediterranean climate. Int J Biometeorol 56:853–864

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke SJ, Lamont KJ, Pan HY, Barry LA, Hall A, Rogiers SY (2015) Spring root-zone temperature regulates root growth, nutrient uptake and shoot growth dynamics in grapevines. Aust J Grape Wine Res 479

  • Coombe B (1986) Influence of temperature on composition and quality of grapes. Symposium on Grapevine Canopy and Vigor Management, XXII IHC 206, 23–36

  • CSIRO (2015). Climate change in Australia: Technical report 2015, [Aspendale, Vic.: CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research and Bureau of Meteorology, Australia

  • Darbyshire R, Webb L, Goodwin I, Barlow S (2011) Winter chilling trends for deciduous fruit trees in Australia. Agric For Meteorol 151:1074–1085

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Candolle A (1883) Origine des plantes cultivées. Germer Baillière et Cie, Paris

  • De Réaumur R 1735. Observation du thermometre, faites aParis pendant l’année 1735, comparée avec celles qui ont été faites sous la ligne, al’Isle de France, aAlger et en quelques-unes de nos isles de l’Amérique. Mémoire de l’Académie des Sciences de Paris

  • Dry PR, Coombe BG, Anderson CJ (2004) Viticulture, 2nd edn. Winetitles, Adelaide

    Google Scholar 

  • Duchêne E, Schneider C (2005) Grapevine and climatic changes: a glance at the situation in Alsace. Agron Sustain Dev 25:93–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Due G, Morris M, Pattison S, Coombe BG (1993) Modelling grapevine phenology against weather: considerations based on a large data set. Agric For Meteorol 65:91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ESRI (2014). ArcGIS desktop: release 10. 10.2.2 ed. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute

  • Gladstones JS (1992) Viticulture and environment: a study of the effects of environment on grapegrowing and wine qualities, with emphasis on present and future areas for growing winegrapes in Australia. Winetitles, Adelaide, p 1992

    Google Scholar 

  • Gladstones J (2011). Wine, terroir and climate change, Wakefield Press, Adelaide

  • Hall A, Jones GV (2009) Effect of potential atmospheric warming on temperature-based indices describing Australian winegrape growing conditions. Aust J Grape Wine Res 15:97–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall A, Jones GV (2010) Spatial analysis of climate in winegrape-growing regions in Australia. Aust J Grape Wine Res 16:389–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall A, Mathews A, Holzapfel B (2016) Potential effect of atmospheric warming on grapevine phenology and post-harvest heat accumulation across a range of climates. Int J Biometeorol 60:1405–1422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrickson L, Ball MC, Wood JT, Chow WS, Furbank RT (2004) Low temperature effects on photosynthesis and growth of grapevine. Plant Cell Environ 27:795–809

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huglin P (1978). Nouveau mode d’evaluation des possibilites heliothermiques d’un milieu viticole / A new method of evaluating the heliothermal possibilities in the environment of grape culture. Comptes rendus des seances

  • IPCC (2014). Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of working group II to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)], Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, Cambridge University Press

  • Jackson DI, Lombard PB (1993) Environmental and management practices affecting grape composition and wine quality—a review. Am J Enol Vitic 44:409–430

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson I, Thornley J (1985) Temperature dependence of plant and crop process. Ann Bot 55:1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones GV (2006) Climate and terroir: impacts of climate variability and change on wine. In: Macqueen RW, Meinert LD (eds) Fine wine and terroir—the geoscience perspective. Geological Association of Canada, St. John’s

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones GV (2012) Climate, grapes, and wine: structure and suitability in a changing climate. Acta Hortic 931:19–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones GV, Davis RE (2000) Climatic influences on grapevine phenology, grape composition, and wine production and quality for Bordeaux, France. Am J Enol Vitic 51:249–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones GV, Goodrich GB (2008) Influence of climate variability on wine regions in the western USA and on wine quality in the Napa Valley. Clim Res 35:241–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones GV, White MA, Cooper OR, Storchmann K (2005) Climate change and global wine quality. Clim Chang 73:319–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DA, Wang W, Fawcett R (2009) High-quality spatial climate data-sets for Australia. Aust Meteorol Ocean 58:233–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones GV, Duff AA, Hall A, Myers JW (2010) Spatial analysis of climate in winegrape growing regions in the western United States. Am J Enol Vitic 61:313–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller M (2010) Managing grapevines to optimise fruit development in a challenging environment: a climate change primer for viticulturists. Aust J Grape Wine Res 16:56–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller M, Tarara JM (2010) Warm spring temperatures induce persistent season-long changes in shoot development in grapevines. Ann Bot 106:131–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller M, Millis L, Tarara J, Ferguson J (2004) Effects of budbreak temperature on seasonal shoot and fruit growth in grapevines. VII International Symposium on Grapevine Physiology and Biotechnology 689, 183–188

  • Koufos G, Mavromatis T, Koundouras S, Fyllas NM, Jones GV (2014) Viticulture–climate relationships in Greece: the impacts of recent climate trends on harvest date variation. Int J Climatol 34:1445–1459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lereboullet A-L, Beltrando G, Bardsley DK, Rouvellac E (2014) The viticultural system and climate change: coping with long-term trends in temperature and rainfall in Roussillon, France, Regional Environmental Change, 1951

  • Lisek J (2008) Climatic factors affecting development and yielding of grapevine in central Poland. J Fruit Ornament Plant Res 16:285–293

    Google Scholar 

  • Malheiro AC, Campos R, Fraga H, Eiras-Dias J, Silvestre J, Santos JA (2013) Winegrape phenology and temperature relationships in the Lisbon wine region, Portugal. J Int des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin 47:287–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Marta AD, Grifoni D, Mancini M, Storchi P, Zipoli G, Orlandini S (2010) Analysis of the relationships between climate variability and grapevine phenology in the Nobile di Montepulciano wine production area. J Agric Sci UK 148:657–666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mc Intyre G, Kliewer W, Lider L (1987) Some limitations of the degree day system as used in viticulture in California. Am J Enol Vitic 38:128–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Minitab, I. 2010. Minitab 17 Statistical Software. 17.3.1 ed. State College, PA

  • Mira de Orduna R (2010) Climate change associated effects on grape and wine quality and production. Food Res Int 43:1844–1855

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Montes C, Perez-Quezada JF, Peña-Neira A, TONIETTO J (2012) Climatic potential for viticulture in Central Chile. Aust J Grape Wine Res 18:20–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moral F, Rebollo F, Paniagua L, García A (2014) Climatic spatial variability in Extremadura (Spain) based on viticultural bioclimatic indices. Int J Biometeorol 58:2139–2152

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nemani RR, White MA, Cayan DR, Jones GV, Running SW, Coughlan JC, Peterson DL (2001) Asymmetric warming over coastal California and its impact on the premium wine industry. Clim Res 19:25–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oke A, Tapper N, Barlow E (2005) Within-vineyard variability in grape quality and yield and its relationship to the vineyard environment. Int Workshop Adv Grapevine Wine Res 754:507–514

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlandi F, Bonofiglio T, Aguilera F, Fornaciari M (2015) Phenological characteristics of different winegrape cultivars in central Italy. Vitis 54:129–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Pangzhen Z, Howell K, Krstic M, Herderich M, Barlow EWR, Fuentes S (2015) Environmental factors and seasonality affect the concentration of rotundone in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Shiraz wine. PLoS One 10:21

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrie PR, Clingeleffer PR (2005) Effects of temperature and light (before and after budburst) on inflorescence morphology and flower number of Chardonnay grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) Aust J Grape Wine Res 11:59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrie PR, Sadras VO (2008) Advancement of grapevine maturity in Australia between 1993 and 2006: putative causes, magnitude of trends and viticultural consequences. Aust J Grape Wine Res 14:33–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prescott J (1965) The climatology of the vine (Vitis vinifera L.). The cool limits of cultivation. Trans R Soc S Aust 89:5–23

    Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2014) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramos MC, Jones GV, Martinez-Casasnovas JA (2008) Structure and trends in climate parameters affecting winegrape production in northeast Spain. Clim Res 38:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Real AC, Borges J, Cabral JS, Jones GV (2015) Partitioning the grapevine growing season in the Douro Valley of Portugal: accumulated heat better than calendar dates. Int J Biometeorol 59:1045–1059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogiers SY, Clarke SJ, Schmidtke LM (2014) Elevated root-zone temperature hastens vegetative and reproductive development in Shiraz grapevines. Aust J Grape Wine Res 20:123–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruml M, Korac N, Vujadinovic M, Vukovic A, Ivanisevic D (2016) Response of grapevine phenology to recent temperature change and variability in the wine-producing area of Sremski Karlovci, Serbia. J Agric Sci UK 154:186–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sadras VO, Moran MA (2012) Elevated temperature decouples anthocyanins and sugars in berries of Shiraz and Cabernet Franc. Aust J Grape Wine Res 18:115–122

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sadras VO, Moran MA (2013) Nonlinear effects of elevated temperature on grapevine phenology. Agric For Meteorol 173:107–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadras VO, Petrie PR (2011) Climate shifts in south-eastern Australia: early maturity of Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon is associated with early onset rather than faster ripening. Aust J Grape Wine Res 17:199–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadras VO, Soar CJ (2009) Shiraz vines maintain yield in response to a 2–4 °C increase in maximum temperature using an open-top heating system at key phenostages. Eur J Agron 31

  • Salinger MJ, Baldi M, Grifoni D, Jones G, Bartolini G, Cecchi S, Messeri G, Dalla Marta A, Orlandini S, Dalu GA (2015) Seasonal differences in climate in the Chianti region of Tuscany and the relationship to vintage wine quality. Int J Biometeorol 59:1799–1811

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smart R, Dry P (1980) A climatic classification for Australian viticultural regions. Australian Grapegrower and Winemaker (Australia)

  • Tomasi D, Jones GV, Giust M, Lovat L, Gaiotti F (2011) Grapevine phenology and climate change: relationships and trends in the Veneto region of Italy for 1964–2009. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, ajev 2011.10108

  • Tonietto J, Carbonneau A (2004) A multicriteria climatic classification system for grape-growing regions worldwide. Agric For Meteorol 124:81–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urhausen S, Brienen S, Kapala A, Simmer C (2011) Climatic conditions and their impact on viticulture in the Upper Moselle region. Clim Chang 109:349–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vrsic S, Vodovnik T (2012) Reactions of grape varieties to climate changes in North East Slovenia. Plant Soil Environ 58:34–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Watt AM, Dunn GM, May PB, Crawford SA, Barlow EWR (2008) Development of inflorescence primordia in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Chardonnay from hot and cool climates. Aust J Grape Wine Res 14:46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb LB, Whetton PH, Barlow EWR (2007) Modelled impact of future climate change on the phenology of winegrapes in Australia. Aust J Grape Wine Res 13:165–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb LB, Whetton PH, Barlow EWR (2008) Climate change and winegrape quality in Australia. Clim Res 36:99–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb LB, Whetton PH, Barlow EWR (2011) Observed trends in winegrape maturity in Australia. Glob Chang Biol 17:2707–2719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb LB, Whetton PH, Bhend J, Darbyshire R, Briggs PR, Barlow EWR (2012) Earlier wine-grape ripening driven by climatic warming and drying and management practices. Nat Clim Chang 2:259–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whetton P & Hennessy, K. Climate change projections for the Australian region. MODSIM 2001: International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Proceedings, Australian National University, 2001. Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand: Canberra, ACT, 647–654

  • Winkler AJ (1974) General viticulture. University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng B, Chenu K, Fernanda Dreccer M, Chapman SC (2012) Breeding for the future: what are the potential impacts of future frost and heat events on sowing and flowering time requirements for Australian bread wheat (Triticum aestivium) varieties? Glob Chang Biol 18:2899–2914

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia

    C. Jarvis, E. Barlow, R. Darbyshire & R. Eckard

  2. NSW Department of Industry, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Research Institute, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia

    R. Darbyshire

  3. Agriculture Victoria, Tatura, VIC, 3616, Australia

    R. Eckard & I. Goodwin

Authors
  1. C. Jarvis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. E. Barlow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. Darbyshire
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. R. Eckard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. I. Goodwin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Jarvis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jarvis, C., Barlow, E., Darbyshire, R. et al. Relationship between viticultural climatic indices and grape maturity in Australia. Int J Biometeorol 61, 1849–1862 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-017-1370-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-017-1370-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation