“`html
Future concept, two friends having picnic in safety suits on polluted field
Summers are heating up. Currently, New Yorkers like me are hiding inside the confines of dark, air-conditioned rooms waiting for the invisible dome of trapped hot ocean air to deflate or release. Bees are searching for water. Plants are wilting. Even the chipmunks have taken a break from digging holes along the house foundation to hide in shady thicket. It’s during moments like this that a slew of wine articles suggest “beating the heat with…” insert wine of choice from bubbles, crisp whites, to rosé and chillable reds. The irony of drinking cold wine to combat a sweltering summer night is not lost on me.
Cold champagne bottle in ice bucket and two glasses of champagne on the deck by the swimming pool
Ancient vineyards unearthed by archaeologists prove Romans grew grapes in Britain during a warmer climate cycle. During the Little Ice Age from roughly 1300 to 1850, temperatures plummeted, turning England’s climate hostile to viticulture. Today, English wines shine anew, producers benefitting from human-induced climate change. While viticulture surges at new latitudes, many of the world’s longstanding vineyards face existential threat. Tools to manage and adapt exist but may not be enough to save the icons of fine wine.
“`
Climate change, considered long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, harms viticulture in several ways. In traditionally arid regions like California and Spain, and increasingly Washington State, Oregon, and even Bordeaux, fires burn through vineyards, threaten lives and structures, and leave nearby fruit, otherwise unaffected, tainted with smoke. Companies are working on technologies to remove smoky aromas and harsh mouthfeel from wine, like membrane filtration, but a one-stop affordable solution remains elusive.
cluster of green wine grapes hanging in vine tree branch of withered vineyard, in winter or autumn season, in Castile, Spain, Europe
Drought, a mix of reduced rainfall and annual snowpack, worsened by faster evaporation from higher temperatures, dries up rivers, lakes, and reservoirs used for irrigation and winery operations. When rain finally falls, it runs off cement-like soil instead of penetrating deep to root systems.
In prior summers, Europe’s rivers, from the Loire, Rhine, to Danube, have shrunk to alarming levels. The drought triggered a change in long-standing laws prohibiting irrigation. Recently, the appellations of Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol and Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux received permission to irrigate after heatwaves and low rainfall threatened vines with hydric stress.
Nantes city between the branches of the Loire river aerial view in Loire-Atlantique region in France
Heat waves, typically defined as dayslong temperatures above 95°F, halt grape development as vines shutter to preserve water resources. Even abnormal heat takes a toll on wine quality. Warm conditions early in the season accelerate grape development. Faster ripening pushes up harvest dates from late summer or fall when weather is cooler, to the hottest part of the season, which causes potential alcohol to rise, acidity to fall, and flavors to diminish in complexity.
Of course, wine regions aren’t ready to give up. Researchers have made strides in water conservation. Improvements in soil moisture monitoring managed with computers and phone apps, coupled with improved irrigation techniques like drip and deficit, help wineries save resources by precision targeting water usage. Converting older suitable vineyards to dry farming can save water while increasing wine quality as yields falls while fruit flavors concentrate. A rootstock called “M,” developed in Italy for resistance to water and heat stress, has shown good results during this summer’s heat waves.
Aerial view of a solar farm in the countryside. Environment and green energy concept.
To manage intense, direct sunlight which burns grapes, Australians developed a chemical sunscreen to spray on clusters. Other techniques for shielding grapes, especially thinner-skinned varieties like Pinot Noir, include hanging shade cloth in smaller vineyards, and focusing on canopy management to ensure leaf cover for dappled light, in larger ones.
Scorching heat isn’t the only consequence of climate change. Many winemakers cite intense, unpredictable weather as their main concern. Supercharged rainstorms, especially around harvest, frost, and hail, especially in regions previously unaffected by these occurrences, catch growers off guard with little chance to protect fruit against damage. Increased humidity invites new pests and diseases into the vineyard.
Managing climate change with technology, adapting by planting more heat resilient grape varieties on new rootstocks, or moving vineyards further north and up mountains, offer solutions to deeper pocketed producers, in that order.
Farmer using smart farming technologies for higher efficiency in a vineyard
Smaller wineries can budget for smart phone apps warning of weather systems, or possibly hail nets or frost sprinklers, if such events become common enough to justify the expense.
Converting vineyards to heat- and drought-resistant varieties like Mourvèdre, or experimenting with hybrids, costs wineries in materials, labor, and time lost in harvest cycles. New world wineries with fewer rules on what they can grow, can switch grapes more readily, but wineries in Europe, beholden to appellation laws and reputations built over centuries, have less flexibility.
Buying and converting land to vineyards in cooler-climate latitudes and elevations, whether Champagne producers in England or Germans in Norway, requires significant financial resources and is a solution accessible to very few.
Unfortunately, several wine regions sit on the precipice of an identity crisis. Climate is a large piece of the terroir puzzle, and wines reliant on delicacy, freshness, even lower alcohol levels for typicity, like Riesling in Germany’s Mosel Valley and Pinot Noir from Burgundy, are challenged to maintain the historical profile that made them famous and valuable.
Burgundy is a historical region in east-central France. It’s famous for its Burgundy wines as well … [+] as pinot noirs and Chardonnay, Chablis and Beaujolais.
Is Burgundy still Burgundy if grapes ripen into 15% alcohol fruit bombs that taste more like California than France? Will distributors and customers remain loyal, or will Pinot Noir lovers in search of the holy grail of freshness and finesse pivot to wines from Canada, Tasmania, even Hokkaido, instead?
While some regions contend with a recalibration of typicity, others face existential threat. If fine wine viticulture is no longer possible in the hottest, driest regions of the world, some wineries may convert crops to table wine, table grapes, or abandon viticulture altogether, especially if governments hit a crisis point and force the prioritization of resources like water and labor for food production over wine.
Of course, worst case scenarios are just that. The wine industry is working hard to innovate and adapt. What does seem inevitable is that in one lifetime, cartographers will stay busy redrawing a shifting and shrinking map of the world’s fine wine regions.
One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.
Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.
In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service. We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.
Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:
User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:
So, how can you be a power user?
Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.
Leave a Reply