The major factors of wine trade have been showing distinct patterns of temporal trends worldwide in past decades. Wine consumption, production, imports, and exports differ according to their location and classification to Old World and New World wine markets. Using datasets from various sources, this work focused on quantifying long-term trends (1995–2021) of these wine industry factors for each country, including long-term means and temporal trends, using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and resulting in Z-scores. The temporal relationships between these global factors were quantified by applying Pearson correlation to the original values, as well as by correlating the Z-scores. Our findings show that Old World wine consumers and producers (e.g., Spain, France, and Italy) have been experiencing gradual decreasing trends of wine consumption and production. In New World countries, some of the largest wine-consuming countries were found to have strong, significant increases in wine consumption and new wine production markets show rapid growth trends. About 80% of the countries demonstrated increasing trends of wine imports, signifying the impact of globalization on the wine market and the growing demand for foreign wine. Globally, consumption per capita was found to have significantly decreased. Wine production showed a strong, significant, and lagged dependence on wine consumption, which was also related to the temporal trends of wine imports and exports. The major forces driving the wine market are possibly economic growth and wider competition, with climate change acting as a disruptive force.

‘Malbec’ grapevines commonly have high yield, thus intermittently negatively affecting wine quality parameters. Here, we describe the use of late shoot pruning (LSP) practice applied for wine quality improvement. We examined the effect of timing of LSP on ‘Malbec’ vines grown in Mediterranean conditions during three consecutive seasons (2016–2018) in Israel. The timing of LSP treatment applications (applied one, two and three weeks after bud break) were compared with cluster-thinned, winter-pruned vines (WP + T) and standard winter pruning (WP). The LSP practice postponed bud break of target buds but did not have a temporal effect on the onset of veraison. Midday stem water potential was less negative and stomatal conductance and net CO₂ assimilation rate were higher in the LSP vines. This practice led to a substantial reduction in the number of clusters and crop yield. Finally, wine quality was positively affected by applying LSP treatment. Performing the inexpensive LSP treatment at the precise timing after bud burst was found to save labor, decrease crop yield and improve grape and wine parameters. LSP application should be considered in adequate varieties as a significant tool for the enhanced effectiveness of vine growing in warm regions.

Monitoring and tracking the long-term dynamics of vineyard coverage and fresh grape production can support sustainable agricultural planning under evolving climate, market, and land-use pressures. This study presents a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of global viticulture trends from 1961 to 2023, integrating the official statistical database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT) for grape-producing countries. We applied statistical trend analysis (Mann–Kendall test), Random Forest regression modeling, cross-correlation functions, and dissimilarity analysis to examine patterns and drivers of change in vineyard area, production volume, yield efficiency, and land-use intensity. Our results reveal a significant global decoupling of production from vineyard areas, driven by increasing yields and technological intensification, particularly in rapidly expanding table grape markets in Asia. While traditional European wine regions are reducing vineyard coverage, emerging producers such as China and India are achieving high production with improved land efficiency. Production volume emerged as the dominant predictor of vineyard-harvested areas, while climatic factors, urbanization, and socio-economic dynamics also exerted significant influence. Our findings point to growing polarization in production amounts, alongside convergence in yield and management efficiency across countries. These findings contribute to the understanding of global viticulture transformation and provide insights into optimizing land-use strategies for sustainable grape production under climate change and market evolution.

The Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a key physiological metric in viticulture, associated with vine health, yield, and responsiveness to environmental and management factors. This study, conducted in a Mediterranean Sauvignon Blanc vineyard (2017–2023), examines how irrigation and environmental variables affect LAI across phenological stages, and their impact on yield (clusters per vine, cluster weight, total yield) and pruning parameters (cane weight, pruning weight). Results show that irrigation is the primary driver of LAI, with increased water availability promoting leaf area expansion. Environmental factors, including temperature, vapor pressure deficits, and solar radiation, influence LAI dynamics, with chilling hours playing a crucial role post-veraison. Excessive LAI (>1.6–1.7) reduces yield due to competition between vegetative and reproductive sinks. Early-season LAI correlates more strongly with yield, while late-season LAI predicts pruning weight and cane growth. Machine learning models reveal that excessive pre-veraison LAI in one season reduces cluster numbers in the next. This study highlights LAI as a critical tool for vineyard management. While irrigation promotes vegetative growth, excessive LAI can hinder fruit set and yield, emphasizing the need for strategic irrigation timing, canopy management, and climate adaptation to sustain long-term vineyard productivity.

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a key physiological metric in viticulture, associated with vine health, yield, and responsive to environmental and management factors. This study, conducted in a Mediterranean Sauvignon Blanc vineyard (2017–2023), examines how irrigation and environmental variables affect LAI across phenological stages and its impact on yield (clusters per vine, cluster weight, total yield) and pruning parameters (cane weight, pruning weight). Results show irrigation is the primary driver of LAI, with increased water availability promoting leaf area expansion. Environmental factors, including temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and solar radiation, influence LAI dynamics, with chilling hours playing a crucial role post-veraison. Excessive LAI (>1.6–1.7) reduces yield due to competition between vegetative and reproductive sinks. Early-season LAI correlates more strongly with yield, while late-season LAI predicts pruning weight and cane growth. Machine learning models reveal that excessive pre-veraison LAI in one season reduces cluster numbers in the next. This study highlights LAI as a critical tool for vineyard management. While irrigation promotes vegetative growth, excessive LAI can hinder fruit set and yield, emphasizing the need for strategic irrigation timing, canopy management, and climate adaptation to sustain long-term vineyard productivity.