Weather and wine quality in Chile’s Casablanca Valley

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Casablanca Valley, which is located in Chile’s central region and is one of the eleven Wine Capitals of the World, presents a most unusual climate among the global wine regions: cold summers (Csc according to the Koppen classification). In this study we explore the relationship between weather and wine quality in Casablanca and we conclude that this relationship is quite different from what has been reported in reference to other wine regions. Specifically, we find that: (a) the weather affects the quality of red wines much more than that of white wines; (b) both, winter season and growing season weather variables play an important role in determining wine quality; (c) humidity and solar radiation also matter; and (d) absolute maximum and minimum temperatures during the grapevine cycle are also important explanatory variables. This is in stark contrast with several previous studies where the average temperature during the growing season and rainfall before the harvest season were found to be the most relevant weather variables to account for wine quality.