Grupo Príncipe de Viana R+D
Efficient and sustainable adaptation of viticulture and winemaking to climate change
In our quest against climate change with the CLIMAVIN project, Grupo Príncipe de Viana have achieved the optimization of the production processes with a reduction of 25%-35% water consumption and 20%-30% power conservation, as compared to conventional viticulture. In addition, we have increased the production of specific amino acids responsible for the aromas and flavours in the wines, thus influencing their quality.
The main objective of the project was to take a step further towards sustainable wine production while improving the final product quality.
CLIMAVIN, co-funded by the EEAGrants programme, lasted 18 months and ended last December 31st, 2015 with a budget of 726,825€. A further collaborator in this project was WORLD WINES AS (part of Norwegian Beverage Group), a partner company of Norwegian origin which has worked with Grupo Príncipe de Viana in defining the needs and the validation of the product.
CLIMAVIN’s main achievement has been the adaptation of the vineyard to climate change by optimizing resources. To attain this, Grupo Príncipe de Viana was equipped with new monitoring and diagnosis technology, at both viticultural and winemaking levels, drawing on experience and some of the technologies used in previous projects carried out by the group. These technologies enabled them to manage the whole process and to develop sustainability strategies that have improved efficiency in the use of water, nutritional and energy resources.
Grupo Príncipe de Viana will continue working in these areas, for many years of dedication are necessary to keep obtaining results. Grupo Príncipe de Viana have developed many projects before which have shown that, in order to further improve sustainability of the production processes, objective measuring of what happens in each of the phases of the vineyard is absolutely necessary. To this purpose, the support of science and technology is a true asset.
Monitoring sensors were installed on the vineyard. These provide detailed information on the weather, the evolution of the conditions of the soils, the nutrients and the level of water in the plants, which throws up-to-date data on the needs of the vineyard. In addition to this, extensive foliar and soil analyses were taken, which informed about the level of nutrients.
Satellite photographs and remote sensing tools provided a series of maps which showed the spatial and time distribution of the vineyard growth. These maps enabled the delimitation of the different sub – areas to be managed differently (that is, we could identify areas to be hand-harvested, apply different irrigation or treatments depending on the growth in each area, etc.)
Gaining deep knowledge of cultural practices on the availability of water was also another major objective, as were the desalination of soils in difficult growing areas, the optimization of water resources and reducing the water in the ground. Through the combined use of cultural practices and mycorrhiza, losses from runoff were significantly reduced and a notable improvement was achieved in the efficiency of water and electricity, thus reducing irrigation up to 62% in the more difficult plots, while toxicity problems through salts were removed, thus improving the final quality of the grapes.
Another important point of the project focused on preventing the loss of aromatic precursors, a feature which is becoming more frequent with climate change. Several tests of foliar nutrition in the period of maturation were conducted in an accurate and balanced manner, which increased the level of specific amino acids to encourage the creation of aromatic precursors and maintain the styles of fresh and ripe fruit as desired by consumers today and increasingly difficult to attain because of the rise of global temperature.
With regards the monitoring process of the grapes, specific amino acid analyses (aminograms) supplemented with enzymatic and physiochemical analyses were performed. Tasting berries was also used, which was supplemented with measurements of the active load of sugars to diagnose interruptions of sugar ripeness. Berry tasting was also parameterized for a given profile of aromas and tannin ripeness.
The information collected by various monitoring systems was integrated into a global vineyard management system. Once the results were analysed, we obtained improved agronomic indicators which were used to support decision-making and to adapt vineyard to climate change and reduce the ecological footprint.
The changes applied in the production have improved the sustainability of the whole process thanks to a reduction of irrigation, fertilization, pesticide treatments and so forth. These improvements have also resulted in a significant reduction of the use of fuel, as the number of runs to be made with machines have been lowered significantly.
Integración de la información
El análisis de la información permite decidir la mejor estrategia de manejo
The wines obtained were validated with tastings by internal and external technical staff (WORLD WINES AS). We have confirmed that the new eco-efficient techniques have led to lower energy consumption during the production process while the quality was improved.
Other lines of work carried out during the project which we will continue to assess in the coming years with encouraging preliminary results, are more linked to winemaking, for instance, the nutrition of yeast as responsible for unfolding the aromas of the grapes, or the search for new varieties of indigenous yeasts. From a winemaking point of view, using local yeasts and multiplying them is much more sustainable, than working with commercial yeast, since the process of drying, packing and transporting them represents a much greater energy use than reproducing them ad hoc. However, we must firstly develop a yeast selection process in each area. Moreover, the use of own yeasts preserves the authenticity to the wines, as yeasts produced naturally express different characteristics than commercial yeasts.
Overall, the improvements introduced with CLIMAVIN have achieved a reduction of water use of up to 25%-35% and a decrease in energy expenditure of 20%-30%, as compared to conventional viticulture, thus reducing environmental impact.
With the new eco-efficiency techniques we have made quality wines that are environmentally friendly and thanks to these results, the same techniques will be gradually applied to the entire vineyard.
Grupo Príncipe de Viana will continue working in these areas, for many years of dedication are necessary to keep obtaining results. Grupo Príncipe de Viana have developed many projects before which have shown that, in order to further improve sustainability of the production processes, objective measuring of what happens in each of the phases of the vineyard is absolutely necessary. To this purpose, the support of science and technology is a true asset.
