Topographic Terroir Modelling for Evidence-Based Delineation of Grape Production Zones for the Future GI Armenian Brandy

Jakšić, Darko and Perović, Veljko and Hayrapetian, Tigran and Bradić, Ivan and Mikayelyan, Mikayel and Mkrtchyan, Armayis and Davtyan, Stepen (2026) Topographic Terroir Modelling for Evidence-Based Delineation of Grape Production Zones for the Future GI Armenian Brandy. In: Book of Abstracts, 15th International Symposium on Agricultural Sciences "AgroReS 2026", 25-28 May 2026. University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Agriculture, Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, p. 91. ISBN 978-99976-84-08-0

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Abstract

Armenian Brandy is a prestigious and time-honored spirit, recognized for its exceptional quality and serving as a flagship export that strengthens Armenia's rural value chains and enhances international visibility. To establish a transparent, science-based foundation for defining grape production zones for the future Geographical Indication (GI) Armenian Brandy, an innovative GIS modeling workflow was developed within the EU project “Technical Assistance for the Development of the GI ‘Armenian Brandy’,” implemented by Expertise France in collaboration with DMI.A DEM (30 m) was utilized to analyze five key topographic indicators: elevation, slope, aspect, the length-slope (LS) factor, and the Wind Exposure Index (WEI). The indicator values were standardized into a common suitability scale using Standard Scoring Functions (SSF), employing methodologies such as "more-is-better," "less-isbetter," and "midpoint-optimal."To reduce subjectivity in indicator weighting, inter-indicator dependencies were modeled using network analysis (NA), where the network structure was estimated as a sparse Gaussian graphical model via graphical LASSO (gLASSO) with Extended Bayesian Information Criterion (EBIC) model selection. Node strength centrality was then applied to derive data-driven indicator weights, identifying elevation and WEI as the dominant topographic factors influencing grape production. A newly formulated index, the Topographic Quality Index (TQI), was created specifically for this purpose. This index, defined as a network-weighted composite of SSF-standardized indicators, ranges from 0.038 to 0.923. Nationally, the prevailing TQI categories were 0.2–0.4 (45.60%) and 0.4–0.6 (24.59%), with high suitability (TQI > 0.6) accounting for 20.12% of the territory. High-TQI terrain is primarily located in the four defined zones, forming a coherent topographic core that supports Gicompliant sourcing, traceability, and risk-based control planning. This integrative terroir modeling approach, which is being applied for the first time in the spirit-drinks sector, combines topographic with other factors, representing a systematic methodology to enhance GI-oriented spatial suitability assessment and zoning.

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