Quinta do Crasto project guarantees genetic map of centenary vineyard

Quinta do Crasto implemented the “PatGen Vineyards” project to safeguard the genetic map of the century-old Maria Teresa vineyard, installed in the Douro, where 54 grape varieties have been identified and dead vines are being replaced by identical varieties.
“The big goal is to ensure that our genetic map will last over time”, winemaker Manuel Lobo, from Quinta do Castro, told Lusa – Portuguese News Agency.
The Genetic Heritage of Vines project began to be considered in 2009, was implemented more effectively in 2013 and focuses on the century-old Maria Teresa vineyard, which has 4.7 hectares and is located in Gouvinhas, in the municipality of Sabrosa, district of Vila Real.
Quinta do Crasto has now presented the first conclusions of the “PatGen Vineyards” and referred that all living plants existing in that historic vineyard were identified, in a total of 54 varieties. The winemaker explained that the idea is to keep the “identity of the vineyard”.
In this context, “rigorous” and “precise” georeferencing work was done on the vines (each with a GPS coordinate) and 31,825 points/coordinates (which represent the sum of the number of vines, faults and rootstocks) were counted.
A genotype multiplication field was also created on the farm, that is, a field where there is a base of different grape varieties, which allows the replacement of vines that die from genetically identical varieties, thus perpetuating the ‘field blend ‘(genetic map) of this centennial vineyard.
In addition to replacing the plant, with this project it is also possible, according to Manuel Lobo, to “monitor the entire vineyard”.
Using “innovative systems”, such as drone flights and satellite images, which enable high resolution images (NDVI and NDVR), it is possible to “anticipate the loss of genetic material and the counting of plants at risk”.
All this information is available in digital form, functioning as a kind of “watchman”, which allows to understand the health status of each of the plants that exist in the vineyard, taking care of them in a more optimized way to their needs, a process called precision viticulture.
With the information provided, the viticulture and oenology teams can intervene, for example, in the manual fertilization of vines that are most vulnerable or in failure, and even decide the harvest date.
The winemaker said that this technology allows to identify weak points and act quickly, making the necessary corrections in the plant or safeguarding this genetic material.
The Maria Teresa vineyard, named after the first granddaughter of Constantino de Almeida, founder of Quinta do Crasto, is one of the oldest on the property located in the heart of the Douro Demarcated Region.
One of the beverage options is a ‘super premium’ Douro DOC red wine made from the grapes harvested in this vineyard, which is only bottled in years of exceptional quality and always in very limited quantities. 2017 was recently launched.
Manuel Lobo said that Quinta do Crasto is getting ready to apply the “PatGen Vineyards” to other old vineyards on the property.