Viticulture – Climate and Environment Research Reports

Franca Carlotta Foerster | Moritz Wagner

Simplifying Environmental Sustainability Assessment for Grapegrowers: A Parsimonious Model Approach

Franca Carlotta Foerster* and Moritz Wagner
Hochschule Geisenheim University, Von-Lade-Straße 1, Geisenheim, 65366, Germany (carlotta.foerster@hs-gm.de)

Environmental sustainability has become a key factor in production and consumption of many goods and services. Compulsory requirements from organizations, governments, markets, and society push industries like agriculture to assess and lower their environmental impact. The wine industry, especially the viticulture sector, faces several challenges. Vineyards are often managed intensively with herbicides, systemic fungicides, and insecticides with a high application frequency. An adequate strategy to improve sustainability of the wine industry must start with an accurate and objective quantification of its sustainability performance. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely accepted tool for this. Grape production processes can vary considerably between wineries. Consequently, conducting LCA to identify potentials to improve environmental sustainability is highly context-specific, labor-intensive, and requires expertise in LCA. Therefore, it is not yet a hands-on tool for many wineries to assess sustainability of production processes. Simplifying LCA models could increase its use as a management and decision tool in the wine industry. Simplified models must consider specific regional aspects and individual management decisions, but require just a few key parameters to obtain representative results. For the remaining input data, necessary to build models with high predictive power, fixed generic data can be used. This study sought to distinguish input parameters that can be set to a fixed value from those that must be case-specific. Average input data for vineyard management and its probabilistic distribution was collected from the literature and from research and practice experts. The resulting inventory was analyzed in Brightway2 using Monte Carlo simulation and global sensitivity analysis to establish a parametrized inventory. Based on this knowledge, a simplified LCA model was developed by fixing input parameters with low relevance at their median impact values.

Funding Support: This project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Joel Harms | Jan Adamowski | Viacheslav Adamchuk | Nathaniel Newlands | Simone Castellarin

Mapping Global Future Potential for Pinot noir Cultivation under Climate Uncertainty using Generative AI

Joel Harms,* Jan Adamowski, Viacheslav Adamchuk, Nathaniel Newlands, and Simone Castellarin
*McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada (joel.harms@mail.mcgill.ca)

This study addresses the effect of climate change on the global wine industry, specifically focusing on the suitability of regions for cultivating major international grape varieties. With the increasing challenges posed by climate change, understanding how shifts in climate may affect the quality and production of single-varietal wines is crucial. We propose using a climate-based wine variety recommendation system, using deep-coupled autoencoder networks, to predict regions that will likely undergo improvements or declines for key grape varieties. We tested this approach by predicting possible future Pinot noir regions globally. The system was fine-tuned and evaluated using vintage scorings from representative regions over the past ~30 years, using scorings from multiple respected wine critics. Future predictions are mapped using existing climate models under +2C and +4C scenarios from the TerraClimate Dataset. We use derived climate indicators to identify regions with the greatest potential for Pinot noir. Our findings indicate significant shifts in the suitability of regions, particularly in areas previously considered too cold. This study demonstrates the practical application of wine-recommendation systems in adapting to changing climate conditions and provides valuable insights for the wine industry. By fine-tuning these systems for specific tasks, such as predicting suitable regions for a specific varietal, the wine industry can proactively address the challenges posed by climate change and make informed decisions for sustainable viticulture. This research highlights the wide-ranging possibilities of wine-recommendation systems, showcasing their potential to enhance decision-making processes within the wine industry amid evolving climate conditions.

Funding Support: This research was supported by funds from the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS M) Program by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada held by JH.
 

Briann Dorin | Sheila Colla

Role of Grapegrowers in Pollinator Conservation: Protecting and Promoting Bees within Vineyards

Briann Dorin* and Sheila Colla
*York University, 4700 Keele St. Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada 
(briann.dorin@gmail.com)

Bees are essential pollinators of many crops and wild plants, thus holding great economic and environmental importance. However, research has shown declines in various bee taxa due to several threats including habitat loss, climate change, pesticide exposure, and interactions with non-native species. Successful pollinator conservation actions must be determined in lands where threats are likely to occur. This research should be done through collaboration with the land managers responsible for their implementation. This is especially needed in crops that are understudied and underused for their potential pollinator conservation capacity, such as those that are pollinator-independent like the winegrape, Vitis vinifera. This research project aims to determine how wild bees can be best supported in Canadian vineyards. Twenty-four commercial vineyards across the Niagara Region, ON, were surveyed to determine the effects of various vineyard management practices and surrounding landscape factors on wild bee abundance and diversity. Bee communities were sampled monthly throughout the spring and summer using pan traps and netting for two years. The vineyard management practices under investigation included cover cropping, mowing frequencies, and organic versus conventional versus certified sustainable management. Surrounding landscape factors included proximity to and percentage of natural lands, impervious surfaces, and different crop types. Bee responses to these variables will be discussed, as well as future directions including engaging grapegrowers in pollinator conservation and important policy implications.

Funding Support: York University, Entomological Society of Canada

David Garcia

Trans-Resveratrol Derived from Cabernet Sauvignon Pruning Waste: An Additional Revenue Source for Grapegrowers

David Garcia*
*California State University, Fresno, 5469 North Cedar Ave, Fresno, CA, 93710 (soledadkd@mail.fresnostate.edu)

This study explores the use of trans-resveratrol from Cabernet Sauvignon grape cane waste in California as an innovative and sustainable income stream for vineyard growers. Employing high-pressure liquid chromatography, we quantified trans-resveratrol concentrations to assess the efficacy of different ethanol extraction concentrations, vineyard location, and soil composition to optimize yield. This process has a twofold advantage: enhancing profitability by converting pruning waste into valuable antioxidants and promoting environmental sustainability by decreasing agricultural waste. The investigation determined that using 50% ABV ethanol significantly surpasses alternative methods for extracting maximum trans-resveratrol yields, demonstrating the economic and environmental benefits of this sustainable practice.

Comparative analysis of five distinct vineyards in California reinforced the necessity of careful site selection and the adjustment of extraction parameters to boost trans-resveratrol extraction. This approach provides not only a method to increase vineyard revenue, but also to advance sustainable agricultural practices by transforming waste into a resource.

Converting agricultural waste into antioxidants like trans-resveratrol provides a viable pathway for vineyards to enhance their economic model while contributing to ecological conservation. Ethanol extraction of 50% ABV was the superior technique, providing a practical framework to reduce environmental footprint and advance waste to wealth strategies in agriculture, promising notable gains for the economy and the environment.

Funding Support: Dr. Qun Sun