Climate change effects on cv. Montepulciano in some wine-growing areas of the Abruzzi region (Italy)

In this paper, we analyzed the climate change impact in some wine-growing areas of the Abruzzi region through the estimated dates of bud burst and the study of the relationships between some bioclimatic indexes with the beginning of harvest date of cv. Montepulciano, during the period 1974–2013. The earlier harvest date would seem mainly linked to the increase of heat summation in the period March–June. The break point of the time series of harvest date showed good correlation with the heat summation in the period from March to June. Climate change, occurred in European continent begun around 1980, would determine in the wine-growing areas of Abruzzi, a significant reduction in the growth cycle of the cv. Montepulciano, mainly due to the earlier harvest date, considering that there were no substantial changes in the estimated dates of bud burst.