2026-07-02
Researchers have published a new study in OENO One describing an “on-the-go” hyperspectral imaging system designed to track grape maturity in Tempranillo vineyards and help growers make harvest decisions under variable climate conditions.
The paper, published July 1 in the journal’s latest issue, was written by Aitana Tejada-González, Ignacio Barrio, Leonardo Poggi, Juan Fernández-Novales, Leticia Martínez-Lapuente, Zenaida Guadalupe and María P. Diago.
The study focuses on a practical problem for wine producers: grapes in the same vineyard do not always ripen evenly, and climate variability can widen those differences from one block, row or season to another. That makes the timing of harvest more difficult, especially for wineries trying to balance sugar levels, acidity, phenolic maturity and style targets in red wines such as Tempranillo.
According to the article listing published by OENO One, the researchers developed a mobile hyperspectral imaging approach that can monitor grape maturity while moving through the vineyard. Unlike destructive sampling methods, which require berries or bunches to be collected and analyzed, hyperspectral imaging can assess fruit condition without removing grapes from the vine. The goal is to give growers more detailed information across the vineyard and support adaptive harvest choices when weather patterns are less predictable.
Hyperspectral imaging captures information from many narrow bands of light rather than relying on standard visible images alone. In vineyard use, that can allow researchers and growers to detect spectral signatures linked to changes in berry composition as grapes ripen. Applied in motion, the method is intended to gather data quickly over larger areas than traditional manual sampling.
The work is centered on Tempranillo, one of Spain’s most important wine grapes and a variety widely used for still red wines. For producers working with that grape, maturity at harvest has direct effects on alcohol potential, freshness, tannin profile, color development and overall consistency from one lot to another. In years with uneven ripening or shifting heat patterns, a tool that identifies differences within a vineyard could help wineries separate fruit more precisely or adjust picking dates by zone instead of harvesting entire parcels at once.
That matters for the beverage sector because faster non-destructive maturity measurements could improve selective harvesting, reduce losses tied to uneven ripening and help wineries maintain a more consistent wine style despite climate swings. Those effects would depend on how broadly the technology performs outside research conditions and whether producers can adopt it at workable cost.
The publication appears as climate pressure continues to reshape viticulture research. Growers in many wine regions are dealing with earlier ripening, heat spikes and greater variation in fruit composition at harvest. In that context, tools that provide real-time or near-real-time vineyard information are drawing attention as possible ways to improve field decisions without relying only on lab tests from limited samples.
OENO One’s index entry does not provide full methodological details in the source material available through the journal search page, but it identifies the study as a contribution aimed at supporting adaptive harvest decisions under climate variability. That framing places the research within a broader effort in viticulture to move from uniform harvest timing toward more site-specific management based on measured differences in vine and fruit status.
The study adds to a growing body of work on remote sensing and optical technologies in vineyards. Recent research in the field has examined satellite data for heatwave damage, non-destructive analyses of grape composition and other sensor-based approaches for monitoring vine performance and fruit development. The new paper extends that direction by focusing specifically on mobile hyperspectral imaging during the ripening period in Tempranillo.
For wineries, the practical appeal is straightforward. Harvest timing is one of the most consequential decisions of the season, and it often must be made quickly as weather forecasts change. If a moving sensor system can reliably map maturity differences across rows or blocks, growers may be able to target labor and equipment more efficiently and decide whether some fruit should be picked earlier or later than neighboring areas.
The article’s appearance in a peer-reviewed wine science journal gives the work visibility among viticulture researchers and technical teams in wineries. Further evaluation will likely depend on how accurately the system predicts standard maturity indicators and how easily it can be integrated into commercial vineyard operations during the narrow harvest window.