Macroclimate
Encyclopedia
In viticulture, there are several levels of regional climates that are used to describe the terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...

or immutable characteristics of an area. These levels can be as broad as a macroclimate which includes entire wine regions or as small as a microclimate which includes the unique environment around an individual grapevine. In the middle is the mesoclimate which usually describes the characteristics of a particularly vineyard site.

Levels

  • Macroclimate, in viticulture
    Viticulture
    Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

    , refers to the regional climate of a broad area such as an American Viticultural Area
    American Viticultural Area
    An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....

     (AVA) or a French Appellation d'origine contrôlée
    Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
    Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

    (AOC). It can include an area on the scale of tens to hundreds of kilometers. On smaller scales are the related designations of mesoclimate and microclimate.
  • Mesoclimate refers to the climate of a particular vineyard site and is generally restricted to a space of a tens or hundreds of meters.
  • Microclimate refers to the specific environment in a small restricted spaces-such as a row of vines. The more delineated term canopy microclimate refers to the environment around an individual grapevine
    Canopy (vine)
    In viticulture, the canopy of a grapevine includes the parts of the vine visible aboveground - the trunk, cordon, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The canopy plays a key role in light energy capture via photosynthesis, water use as regulated by transpiration, and microclimate of ripening grapes...

    . although many viticulturlists use the term "microclimate" when talking about an individual vine and the effects of canopy management.
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