Wine
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE
Wine Industry Will climate change make a difference? By Linda Barrett
C
limate change is a top of mind topic with many, and for none so much as those involved in the wine industry. Raising delicate grapevines requires ideal conditions to produce the highest-quality wines, and to survive, growers must learn to adapt or pivot. In a New York Times article titled “How Climate Change Impacts Wine,” author Eric Asimov notes that grape growers “have been noting profound changes in weather patterns since the 1990s.” Hotter summers, warmer winters, droughts, fires and violent storms are showing an impact on the wine industry.
Some Areas May Thrive, While Others May Not In some areas of Europe, like Alsace, Burgundy, Barolo, Champagne, and Germany’s Mosel and Rhine Valleys, warmer growing seasons are enabling winemakers to consistently create exceptional wines. This new prosperity has sent land and wine prices soaring, and according to Asimov, have turned winemakers into “global superstars.” However, “the French Mediterranean coast, Greece and Italy could become too hot for wine
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growing by the year 2050. And the United States could lose 81% of its best wine-growing land by 2100,” reports the Financial Times. Adaptive changes to climate change include the following:
Larger growing areas Areas formerly too cold to effectively grow grapes for fine wine are now seeing their vines thriving. Winemaking is expanding north in the Northern Hemisphere and south in the Southern Hemisphere. As an example, England is now developing a world-class sparkling wine industry, with vineyards scattered along its southern coast where the chalky soils resemble that of France’s Champagne region. Countries as far north as Denmark, Sweden and Norway are also planting vines more adaptable to colder weather. In the Southern Hemisphere, growers are experimenting in Patagonia.
Higher Altitudes Growers are able to plant at higher elevations than ever before, where the heat lasts for shorter periods and the nights are cooler. This enables the grapes to mature at an even pace for a longer
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