Experimental Vineyards

We are interested in understanding water circulation in vineyards and quantifying grapevine water sources, especially during periods of stress. We have been working at these sites:

Grignanello (Chianti region, Italy)

Montepaldi (Chianti region, Italy)

Grignanello

Figure 1: views of the experimental vineyard and location of the instrumentation. a) satellite image; b) picture taken from the top of the hill; c) Soil moisture, soil matric potential and sapflow stations (x2); d) Eddy Covariance Tower; e) Weather station and precipitation collector

The Grignanello experimental vineyard (link Google Map) is a field of 1 hectar in the middle of the Chianti region, Tuscany, Italy. The site is part of the Azienda Agricola Grignanello, which kindly hosts our activities. The grape vines are mainly the local Sangiovese and Canaiolo varieties. They were planted in 1977 and are characterised by a low density (3000 plant/hectar against the 6000 plants/hectar of typical modern vineyards). No pesticides are used and, following DOC regulation, no irrigation is provided. Climate in the area is Mediterranean, with typically 800 mm of rainfall per year, mainly distributed over the winter season. The vineyard’s slope is mild (<5%). The soil has a large percentage of clay.

The instrumentation includes (see Figure 1): 2 networks of soil moisture, soil tension and sapflow sensors; an Eddy Covariance Tower; a Weather station with precipitation collector; 2 time-lapse cameras for the daily evolution of the vineyard. Thermal and multispectral images have been collected through drone flights. Samples of precipitation, bulk soil and plant material have been sampled since July 2022 for water isotope analysis.

Figure 2: Experimental work. a) drone flight; b) grapevine with skin sapflow sensors on the two lower canes; c) sampling of shoots and leaves; d) digging of a trench for the deployment of soil sensors

Partners and collaborators

  • Paolo Benettin, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Azienda Agricola Grignanello, Italy
  • Daniele Penna, Francesca Manca di Villahermosa, Francesca Giannetti, University of Florence, Italy
  • Christian Massari, CNR-IRPI, Italy
  • Lorenzo Brilli, CNR-IBE, Italy
  • Giorgio Cassiani, Luca Peruzzo, Matteo Censini, University of Padova, Italy

Research in Grignanello is financed by the Swiss NSF (project IZCOZ0_205439 / 1) as part of the COST Action WATSON. Internal support by the different partners is also acknowledged.

Montepaldi

The Montepaldi vineyard (link Google Map) belongs to the University of Florence, Italy and is located in the Chianti wine region. The 12-year-old grapevines mainly comprise the local Sangiovese. The experimental vineyard is 2.3 ha with elevations in the range 109-146 m asl. Climate in the area is Mediterranean, with a long-term mean of 822 mm of rainfall mainly distributed over the winter season and an annual mean temperature of 13.7° C.

Partners and collaborators

  • Daniele Penna, University of Florence, Italy
  • Paolo Benettin, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Massimo Tagliavini, Carlo Andreotti, University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

Research in Montepaldi has been financed by: Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze project TRACQUA (2017.0791) and the Swiss NSF (project IZCOZ0_205439 / 1).

Literature on the Montepaldi vineyard

Benettin, P., Tagliavini, M., Andreotti, C., Manca di Villahermosa, F. S., Verdone, M., Dani, A. and Penna, D. (2024), Ecohydrological Dynamics and Temporal Water Origin in a European Mediterranean Vineyard. Ecohydrology e2711. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2711

Back to top