IN 2013 THE "MANTRA” IN THE WINE WORLD WAS "SUSTAINABILITY" AND IN 2014 THE "LEITMOTIV" COULD BE "AGROMETEOROLOGY", CONSIDERING THE "USUAL" CLIMATE ANOMALIES. WINENEWS INTERVIEWED LEONARDO VALENTI, PROFESSOR OF VITICULTURE (UNIVERSITY OF MILAN)

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"Given the continuing climate anomalies, agricultural meteorology might be the science Italian farmers will develop in 2014", according to Leonardo Valenti (University of Milan)
The “mantra” for wine in 2013 was “sustainability”, and in 2014 the “leitmotiv” (which is actually closely linked to sustainability) might be "agricultural meteorology", the in-depth study of meteorology in relation to agriculture and viticulture, Leonardo Valenti, Professor of viticulture at the University of Milan told WineNews.

“The reason is simple: we have different climate anomalies now every year”, said Valenti, “so, in order to manage the vineyard well, the best thing to do is to get to know the problems better, and possibly predict what they might be in a crop year. Then study all the information to find the most effective way and the appropriate tools to manage the situation. This is because today, climatic conditions are what mostly determines the characteristics of the product. The climate may overturn all convictions, from pruning systems to soil management, according to rainfall, temperature, and so forth”. And since apparently, the "anomaly" is becoming more and more the rule, knowledge and research need to be adjusted accordingly.