Some gas in my glass? Wine and climate change (3/3)

Some gas in my glass? Wine and climate change (3/3)

Friday July 2nd, 2010 0 By Marion

This article is the last of a series of three where I try to analyze the challenge that climate changes represents for the wine industry and the consequences for the wine consumer:

  1. How much does the wine industry contribute to climate change?
  2. How to reduce these impacts (reduction)?
  3. TODAY: What will be the medium and long term effects of climate change on wine production (adaptation)?

3. What will be the long term effects of climate change on wine production?

First of all, climate change will affect where wine is grown. The usual 30 to 50 degress latitude geographical area to produce wine may change. Some countries and areas that are currently too cold to produce wine, like Nortehrn England, may start planting vineyards in the next decades (see below).

world wine producing areas

In addition to that, climate change will affect the grape varieties that are grown and the styles of wines that are produced as a result of a longer growing season, increases in photosynthetic rate, changes in the range of certain floral and faunal pest species and increased water stress. We can for example expect that the South of England, that only produces wines using cool climate grape varieties like Riesling and Pinot Noir, will be able to grow varieties such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot in a few decades. We can also expect a change in wine quality in hot wine producting regions. As a matter of fact, reaching good acidity levels and full phenolic (flavour) ripeness will become more and more difficult in regions such as the Languedoc in France and La Macha in Spain.

Last but not least, climate change will have an influence on viticulture and vinification practices. In Beaune (Burgundy), the average harvest date is now 13 days before what it used to be in the seventies. Adapting grape varieties to the new local weather conditions will take time, therefore we can sadly expect, in the first time, the use of articficial means to counter-balance the effects of climate change: acidification, inverse osmosis to reduce alcohol level, etc.

date_vendanges_rechauffement_climatique

CategoryWine
TagsEnvironment

About The Author

[ENGLISH] My name is Marion Barral and I am passionate about food, wine, sports and photography. Originating from a wine-growing family in the Languedoc (South of France), I studied Agronomic Science in Paris (AgroParisTech). After having worked in the wine trade in the UK, I now travel the world selling wines from the South of France. This allows me to come back to my roots while giving me the opportunity to discover other countries, cultures and languages. This is something I try to share with you in my blog :-) [FRANCAIS]Je m’appelle Marion Barral et je suis passionnée par le vin, l’alimentation, le sport et la photo. Je suis fille de vigneron dans le Languedoc et ingénieur agronome (AgroParisTech). Après avoir travaillé dans le secteur du vin au Royaume-Uni, je parcours le monde pour vendre du vin du sud de la France. En plus d’un retour aux sources, cela me permet de découvrir d’autres pays, langues et cultures. C’est ce que j’essaie de vous faire partager dans mon blog :-)

Répondre / Reply