Viticulture, Enology and Climate Change in the Castelli Romani Area

Research in viticulture and oenology is oriented to reach sustainability of vineyard management and to improve the quality of wine. The vineyard management for the quality of wine consists of many facets: the soil and vine management, use of innovative techniques, protection of the vineyard against fungal diseases and pests, reducing the use of pesticides and so on. These and many other good agricultural practices are the basis for sustainable agriculture.

A lot of knowledge has been acquired in viticulture and enology, but an essential element for plant production is out of control and is not containable adequately: the climate. As known, climatic conditions played a decisive role in the formation of specific wine characteristic from certain varieties. The sustainable management of any culture can’t escape the effects of meteorological factors and their unpredictable variability. So, the farmer must take into account the mutability of environmental conditions, not entirely predictable, but nonetheless characterized by a warmer temperature trend and less frequent rainfalls.

In the area of Castelli Romani, in Lazio Region Italy, the vineyards were reduced by 35% between 2000 and 2010. To reinforce competitiveness of  wines of  "Castelli Romani Area" is necessary to evaluate the effects of global warming on a local scale, to know how and how much the climate has been changing. The aim of this work was to verify the presences of any change in viticulture as a result of a climate change.