Production Of High-quality Wines Research Articles

Marketing Focus in the Chilean Wine Industry

This paper presents the findings of a research project designed in part to better understand the competitive priorities (CPs) and key decision areas (KDAs) supporting manufacturing strategies in the Chilean wine industry and how these KDAs and CPs contribute to obtaining a competitive advantage. The paper also presents the relation of competitive priorities to recent export price and export performance, indicators associated with adequately meeting consumer demands. A brief summary is presented of a survey applied to 49 Chilean wineries. The results indicate that firms rank as their highest CPs both the production of high quality wine to meet final consumer demands, and the reliability of their supply of a high quality product to meet the demands of distributors. The results are consistent both with the characterisation of the Chilean wine industry as oriented to export markets and responsive to buyer preferences, and with other research indicating that product quality and product condition are the highest ranked attributes for Chilean wine purchases by US importers. Per-litre export prices and export growth rates are used to assess how well the emphasis on product quality translates into firm performance. Controlling for export volume, the evidence supports the hypothesis that firms putting a greater emphasis on product quality receive higher average prices. KDA rankings confirm that the industry's decision-making orientation is consistent with its emphasis on the competitive priorities of product quality and dependability.

Impact assessment of changes in land use/conservation practices on soil erosion in the Penedès–Anoia vineyard region (NE Spain)

Soil erosion by water is one of the most important land degradation processes in the Mediterranean basin. In comparison with other typical crops in this region, vineyards are the agricultural land use that cause the highest soil losses. The changes in land use types and management that have involved the intensification of agriculture from the 1950s have contributed to the increase of soil erosion. This paper presents an assessment of this impact in a vineyard region of fundamental concern in the NE Spain, the Penedès–Anoia, mainly dedicated to the production of high quality wines and “cavas”. The analysis is based on the comparison of the estimated soil loss rates in the period just before the mechanisation (1950s) and in the most recent past (1990s). Multitemporal data (aerial photographs and digital terrain models), the revised universal soil loss equation and GIS analysis were used for that purpose. The results show a clear negative soil loss balance, with 12.6% of the agricultural land having experienced major negative changes. This negative balance is associated with the increase of the area dedicated to vineyards, the transformation of old traditional vineyard plantations to modern trained plantations and to the removing of conservation practices to adopt plots to crop mechanisation. This leads to an unsustainable viticulture and soil degradation in medium- to long-term periods.

SOIL SEALING AND ITS INFLUENCE ON EROSION RATES FOR SOME SOILS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA

In the vineyards of the Anoia-Alt Penedès region of NE Spain, erosion problems arising from a combination of soil and climate characteristics and their relief have been accelerated in the last few decades as a consequence of new cropping/planting patterns and soil management practices involving continuous tillage, which leaves the soil bare most of the time. In the rain-fed vineyards of the area, rainfall water conservation in situ has also become a problem that influences the production of high quality wine. The determination of the actual and potential erosion processes required for rational selection, design, and application of soil and water conservation practices requires identification and quantification of the hydrological properties and processes that induce runoff and soil erosion. Laboratory studies in 10 representative surface soils of the region, using simulated rainfall, proved that erosion losses were highly related to the surface sealing susceptibility of the soils, which reduced minimum rainfall water intake rates to 1 to 7 mm h−1 or less after only 10 minutes of rainfall. This susceptibility was highly correlated with the high silt and low organic matter content of the soils. In most of the soils, surface protection by a cover was found to increase the minimum rainfall water intake rate 50 to 200 times. A simple laboratory test, based on the measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity and the time to reach its minimum value, measured efficiently the sealing susceptibility of the studied soils and the relative effect of a protective cover. The minimum value of saturated hydraulic conductivity was highly correlated to runoff and soil erosion losses in soil boxes under simulated rainfall.

Prediction of existing gully erosion in vineyard parcels of the NE Spain: a logistic modelling approach

This paper presents a study of determining factors and a method to predict the existence of gully erosion in vineyard parcels. The Alt Penedès-Anoia region (Catalonia, NE Spain), mainly dedicated to the cropping of vineyards for high quality wine production, was selected as the case study area. Single factors related to the existence of gully erosion were determined by means of statistical tests (Student's t-test and chi-square). The existence of gully erosion was predicted by means of a multivariate procedure. A stepwise selection of variables (relief, soil, land use/management characteristics) was performed, which allowed the identification of factors that present a significant relationship with the existence of gully erosion. The selected factors, slope degree and planar slope form, were considered as independent variables in a logistic regression of binary response. The model computes the probability that gullies exist in given vineyard parcels, and it can be implemented in a raster-based geographical information system (GIS). The assessment of the model in 52 parcels, different from the training data set, yielded an overall accuracy of 84.6%. The predictive model can be applied for areas with similar conditions, but the modelling approach can be applied in other different areas.

Analysis of design criteria for vineyard terraces in the mediterranean area of North East Spain

The Penedès and Anoia regions in NE Spain are important areas for the cultivation of grapes used in the production of high quality wines. The Mediterranean climatic conditions define a xeric soil moisture regime. Rainfall are concentrated in spring and autumn while the summer is warm and dry. The climate is characterized by high rainfall intensities, being one of the main factors responsible for soil erosion in the area. Since grape quality depends on the availability of water for the vineyards and since soil erosion is an important parameter dictating the sustainability of vineyards, soil and water conservation can not be forgotten in the area. The most widely used measure for soil conservation in the area is terracing (hillside ditches, local name rases). Local technical solutions have been studied and in this paper different types of terraces are described and analysed in terms of its effectiveness for runoff control. Mean potential soil losses are evaluated according to the USLE and compared with field measurements in experimental plots. The distances between terraces have been calculated using the criteria proposed by several authors. Owing to the wide diversity of results, an acceptable value for ‘soil loss tolerance’ ( T-value) has been used in order to establish some criteria to make recommendations, taking the values of soil loss measures in the field as a reference. According to these preliminary results based on measurements taken over a period of two years, some advisable distance between terraces (rases) in vineyards can be proposed in view to improve local criteria. With a slope of 6%, a distance of is 28 m would be advisable, and in fields with a slope of 8% the distance should be 20 m. Bennett's criteria to calculate distances between terraces are the more advisable being closely related with experimental results in the area.