Abstract:
The focus of this study was to detennine whether soil texture and composition variables
were related to vine water status and both yield components and grape composition, and
whether multispectral high definition airborne imagery could be used to segregate zones
in vineyards to target fruit of highest quality for premium winemaking. The study took
place on a 10-ha commercial Riesling vineyard at Thirty Bench Winemakers, in
Beamsville (Ontario). Results showed that Soil moisture and leaf'l' were temporally
stable and related to berry composition and remotely-sensed data. Remote-sensing,
through the calculation of vegetation indices, was particularly useful to predict vine
vigor, yield, fruit maturity as well as berry monoterpene concentration; it could also
clearly assist in making wines that are more representative ofthe cultivar used, and also
wines that are a reflection of a specific terroir, since calculated vegetation indices were
highly correlated to typical Riesling.
