How will the wine industry be affected by Climate Change and what are the strategies to mitigate the risks imposed by changing climate conditions?

Climate is one of the key controlling factors in grape and wine production, affecting the suitability of certain grape varieties to a particular region as well as the type and quality of the wine produced. Grapes grow within a 10 degrees Celsius climate range, which goes down to 2 degrees for premium grapes such as Pinot Noir. Prolonged high temperature can have a negative impact on the soil and the quality of the grapes as it affects the development of grape components that give colour, aroma, accumulation of sugar, the loss of acids and all the distinctive traits of wine. Sustained intermediate temperatures and minimal day-to-day variability during the growth and ripening periods are favourable.

Perhaps surprisingly, climate change will have a contrasting impact on wine producers depending on their geographical location as exhibited by the two following cases.

Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy’s wine-making region, most famous for Prosecco and Pinot Grigio contains sensitive white wine grapes at the mercy of rising temperatures. In 2018, there were 13 days with temperatures topping 35 degrees. Throughout the 1990s, such days rarely occurred more than once or twice.

Wine makers notice more disease, an accelerated ripening process and, a surge in the number of grapes that are burned in the intensifying summer heat. Hotter summers are shortening the growing seasons. The grapes are more quickly developing sugar, which ferments into alcohol. Those grapes aren’t building the same acidity. Prosecco is supposed to be floral, fresh and low in alcohol. The environment is pushing that wine in the opposite.

Some wine experts say regions might eventually have to consider using different grape varieties (thus altering the wine’s identity). Growers have been more interested in pushing for ways to maintain the health of what they’ve been using for decades.

Wineries are changing their business models to adapt to climate change by:

• Resequencing their irrigation processes and harvest times: Somewineries are experimenting with new watering systems and shade strategies.Villa Sandi in Crocetta del Montello, has been performing experiments to find a more water-efficient rootstock. And at Pitars, a family-owned vineyard in San Martino al Tagliamento, workers have installed hundreds of miles of plastic irrigation piping beneath the soil, meaning water is released underground, closer to the roots and in cooler temperatures, and less is lost to evaporation. Harvest time was moved to night time in some wineries as well to maintain a lower grape temperature.
• Relocating their vineyards: At least one major northern Italian winemaker, Tomasi has moved its vineyard into a higher elevation. A study recommends moving vineyard 1 Celsius isotherm poleward for every degree of average temperature increase.
• Being flexible with the harvest and growing seasons length to ensure the right balance of sugar and acidity content. Some growers are trying to keep their vineyards leafy as a way to provide as much shade as possible. Others, like Pitars, have opted for a more counterintuitive strategy cutting away leaves early in the season. This step, they say, helps the young grapes grow accustomed to the heat and develop a thicker skin.

Although some areas are negatively impacted by climate change, others such as Champagne, seem to benefit from it. The 1.2 degrees Celsius increase in temperatures in the region over the past 30 years has reduced frost damage. It has also added one degree in the level of alcohol and reduced acidity, making it easier to comply with strict production rules.

Warming has brought other changes as well. Harvesting in Champagne has been brought forward by two weeks on average over the past 30 years, sometimes taking place as early as August rather than in September or October in order to keep a lid on sugar levels that can soar in a warm summer.

Though drought has slashed output in other areas of agriculture, the chalky Champagne soil has water retention properties that have so far been able to temper the impact.

In the short term, climate change (precipitation and temperature) could increase significantly grapes harvesting (quantity and quality) in Champagne. During the last 20 years, the production efficiency of vineyards in Champagne has increased by 50%, mainly because of better climate conditions. The financial implication is positive. It is clear that for the next 20-25 years, quality and quantity will still increase.