Abaco Open Day: Real-World Insights from Pilot 3
The first STELAR Virtual Open Day, hosted in collaboration with our consortium partner Abaco, has successfully concluded. The event highlighted how Torrevilla Winery, located in Oltrepò Pavese, is integrating smart agriculture to refine its winemaking process. Known for its exceptional Pinot Noir, the winery is leveraging STELAR technologies to support agronomic decisions and oenological evaluations.
The Abaco Open Day, the first in a series of events designed to showcase real-world applications demonstrated by the project’s pilots and foster discussions on digital solutions in agriculture, illustrates how Abaco is using AI and smart technologies to optimise vineyard management and improve wine quality predictions – read on to discover more.
Abaco Open Day: Advancing Precision Farming with Smart Technologies
Abaco is leading the pilot on “Timely Precision Farming Interventions” within the STELAR project, focusing on integrating Earth Observation (EO) data with farming technologies tailored to local needs. This approach helps optimise land management and crop planning, allowing for more efficient use of resources like water, fertilisers, and pesticides.
By connecting data from various sources, including weather patterns and IoT sensors, this method also aids in monitoring potential contamination risks and improving post-harvest processing.
In this context, the Open Day showcased how these advanced technologies are applied to vineyard management at Torrevilla Winery. The event started with an introduction by Marco Bonfigli, Project Manager at Abaco, who provided an overview of the event’s objectives.
Dimitris Skoutas from the Athena Research Center, the project coordinator, then presented key aspects of the STELAR project, followed by Marco’s insights into the collaboration between STELAR and Abaco. A technical session led by Simone Parisi, Data Scientist at Abaco, explored the predictive modeling and digital tools used in precision viticulture, concluding with a Q&A session where participants engaged with the experts.
Smart Agriculture at Torrevilla Winery
Torrevilla Winery benefits from a unique microclimate and soil composition that enhance the characteristics of its grape varieties. With a legacy dating back to 1907, the winery embodies a deep-rooted connection to the region’s winemaking tradition. During the event, Abaco demonstrated how digital tools are helping Torrevilla optimise vineyard management and improve harvest quality predictions.
Predicting Vintage Quality with AI
A highlight of the event was the presentation of a predictive model designed to estimate vintage quality. This model analyses climate factors such as temperature, rainfall, and water stress to generate insights that support agronomic decisions. By leveraging AI and smart data, winemakers can refine their approaches to grape cultivation and ensure optimal conditions for high-quality wine production.
How the Prediction Model Works
The algorithm processes daily weather data, focusing on key climate indicators that influence grape development. By analysing temperature variations, precipitation levels, and overall climatic trends, the model generates a vintage quality score on a 0-100 scale. This allows winemakers to assess potential harvest conditions and make data-driven decisions to enhance wine quality.
This Abaco Open Day also served as the opportunity to present future plans for the model. To improve the accuracy of predictive indices, enhancements are planned, such as the integration of phenology data to better represent vine development stages. Additionally, incorporating more ripening curve data will improve algorithm calibration and validation, leading to more precise vintage quality assessments.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
The Abaco Open Day provided a valuable forum for knowledge exchange, showcasing how smart agriculture is shaping the future of winemaking.
This is just the first in the series of Open Days. Stay tuned for more by following us on LinkedIn and Blog to stay updated!
For those who missed the event, the recording is available here!
