DOI: 10.25921/2xg2-mt70
title: NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Western Europe 650 Year Grape Harvest Date Database

description: We present an open-access dataset of grape harvest dates (GHD) series that has been compiled from international, French and Spanish literature and from unpublished documentary sources from public organizations and from wine-growers. As of June 2011, this GHD dataset comprises 380 series mainly from France (93% of the data) as well as series from Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Luxemburg. The series have variable length (from 1 to 479 data, mean length of 45 data) and contain gaps of variable sizes (mean ratio of observations/series length of 0.74). The longest and most complete ones are from Burgundy, Switzerland, Southern Rhône valley, Jura and Ile-de-France. The most ancient harvest date of the dataset is in 1354 in Burgundy. The GHD series were grouped into 27 regions according to their location, to geomorphological and geological criteria, and to past and present grape varieties. The GHD regional composite series (GHD-RCS) were calculated and compared pairwise to assess their reliability assuming that series close to one another are highly correlated. Most of the pairwise correlations are significant (p-value <0.001) and strong (mean pairwise correlation coefficient of 0.58). As expected, the correlations tend to be higher when the vineyards are closer. The highest correlation (R = 0.91) is obtained between the High Loire Valley and the Ile-de-France GHD-RCS. The strong dependence of the vine cycle on temperature and, therefore, the strong link between the harvest dates and the temperature of the growing season was also used to test the quality of the GHD series. The strongest correlations are obtained between the GHD-RCS and the temperature series of the nearest weather stations. Moreover, the GHD-RCS/temperature correlation maps show spatial patterns similar to temperature correlation maps. The stability of the correlations over time is explored. The most striking feature is their generalized deterioration at the late 19th - early 20th turning point. The possible effects on GHD of the phylloxera crisis, which took place at this time, are discussed. The median of all the standardized GHD-RCS was calculated. The distribution of the extreme years of this general series is not homogenous. Extremely late years all occur during a two-century long time window from the early 17th to the early 19th century, while extremely early years are frequent during the 16th and since the mid-19th century. The dataset is made accessible for climate research from (http://www.gdr2968.cnrs.fr/spip.php?rubrique29/) and from the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleo.html).
description: Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) harvest date information 
for 27 regions in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain 
and Luxemburg. The 27 regional composite grape harvest 
date (GHD) series are derived from 380 individual 
vinyard locations. Harvest dates are presented as 
the number of days after 31 August. 

Regional composite grape harvest date (GHD) series locations

Location                        Latitude   Longitude
Alsace                            48.17      7.28
Auvergne                          45.58      3.17
Auxerre-Avalon                    47.78      3.57
Beaujolais and Maconnais          46.24      4.58
Bordeaux                          45.18      -0.75
Burgundy                          47.32      5.04
Champagne 1                       49.04      3.97
Champagne 2                       47.98      4.28
Gaillac- South-West               43.9        1.9
Germany                           48.77      9.17
High Loire Valley                 47.07        2
Ile de France                     48.93      2.23
Jura                              46.93      5.88
Languedoc                         43.6       3.87
Low Loire Valley                  47.15      0.22
Luxembourg                        49.67      6.13
Maritime alps                     43.5         6
Northern Italy                    46.22      10.17
Northern Lorraine                 48.68      5.88
Northern Rhône valley             45.48      4.83
Savoie                            45.6         6
Spain                             42.34      -3.3
Southern Lorraine                 47.98      5.88
Southern Rhône valley             43.98      5.05
Switzerland (Leman Lake)          46.57      6.52
Various South-East                43.74      3.47
Vendée - Poitou Charente          46.45      -1.5