To understand the highly variable susceptibility of the Gamaret cultivar to Esca disease, we carried out a four-year study to identify the environmental factors (climate, plant physiology, and soil) that most strongly influence disease expression. Soil water-holding capacity was found to have the strongest impact on Esca incidence, with higher rainfall in early summer also responsible for an increase in foliar symptoms. This research provides a valuable model for identifying environmental drivers of Esca symptom expression in other grapevine cultivars