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Article

Greek Wine Quality Assessment and Relationships with Climate: Trends, Future Projections and Uncertainties

by
Georgios C. Koufos
1,
Theodoros Mavromatis
1,*,
Stefanos Koundouras
2,
Nikolaos M. Fyllas
3,
Serafeim Theocharis
2 and
Gregory V. Jones
4
1
Department of Meteorology and Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
2
Laboratory of Viticulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
3
Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece
4
Abacela Vineyards and Winery, Roseburg, OR 97471, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2022, 14(4), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040573
Submission received: 7 January 2022 / Revised: 4 February 2022 / Accepted: 8 February 2022 / Published: 14 February 2022

Abstract

Grapevine phenology is particularly sensitive to temperature variations, with changes in climate shifting events earlier and advancing berry maturation into a hotter part of the growing cycle. Consequently, serious concerns regarding the negative influences of climate change on global wine quality have been raised, with the scientific community focusing on documenting these changes to better understand and address the impacts. This study adds to this knowledge by investigating air temperature and precipitation trends over the last 40 years (i.e., 1980–2019). Over the most recent period of records (i.e., 2000–2019), minimum air temperatures significantly increased at a higher rate than maximum temperatures. On the other hand, precipitation showed the least significant trends over time. In addition, wine quality assessment and identification of the most significant weather variables and climatic indices that correlate with wine quality rating scores have also been performed. To serve this purpose, data of wine quality ratings for nine white (W) and two red (R) indigenous winegrape varieties (Vitis vinifera L., cvs) grown in Greece were obtained from the database of Thessaloniki International Wine and Spirits Competition. The results showed a statistically significant upward trend over the recent past in the majority of the varieties studied. To examine future periods, mixed-effect model outputs for Greek wine-producing regions combining an ensemble dataset using RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission pathways during two future periods (i.e., 2041–2065 and 2071–2095) predicts wines of higher quality, especially during the latter time period. These results reveal that Greek wine quality rating variations are mainly driven by higher maximum temperatures and drier conditions during the growing season of the grapevines. However, two important issues need to be more fully explored in Greece and elsewhere; (1) non-linear responses to warming where wine quality could suffer above varietally specific optimum temperature thresholds and (2) a better understanding of how other non-climate-related factors (e.g., canopy management, winemaking innovations) affect wine quality in the face of a changing climate.
Keywords: greek wine quality; climate change; indigenous winegrape varieties greek wine quality; climate change; indigenous winegrape varieties

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MDPI and ACS Style

Koufos, G.C.; Mavromatis, T.; Koundouras, S.; Fyllas, N.M.; Theocharis, S.; Jones, G.V. Greek Wine Quality Assessment and Relationships with Climate: Trends, Future Projections and Uncertainties. Water 2022, 14, 573. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040573

AMA Style

Koufos GC, Mavromatis T, Koundouras S, Fyllas NM, Theocharis S, Jones GV. Greek Wine Quality Assessment and Relationships with Climate: Trends, Future Projections and Uncertainties. Water. 2022; 14(4):573. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040573

Chicago/Turabian Style

Koufos, Georgios C., Theodoros Mavromatis, Stefanos Koundouras, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, Serafeim Theocharis, and Gregory V. Jones. 2022. "Greek Wine Quality Assessment and Relationships with Climate: Trends, Future Projections and Uncertainties" Water 14, no. 4: 573. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040573

APA Style

Koufos, G. C., Mavromatis, T., Koundouras, S., Fyllas, N. M., Theocharis, S., & Jones, G. V. (2022). Greek Wine Quality Assessment and Relationships with Climate: Trends, Future Projections and Uncertainties. Water, 14(4), 573. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040573

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