Wine and Climate Change

As climate change continues to have a significant impact on many aspects of everyday life, I wanted to explore the idea that major wine regions will shift as traditional wine-growing regions become too warm and regions that were once too cold become well-suited for the craft. We discussed this idea briefly as part of the DBR case, but I was curious how significant the changes might be.

Over the past 100 years, the average global temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees and is predicted to continue rising 2-11.5 degrees by the end of the century.

Based on some research, below are a few regions that will benefit and a couple that will need to adapt:

On the rise:

• England: The country is producing some exceptional sparkling wines, especially along the southern coast of the country. The soil in these regions is very similar to that in Champagne: chalky and white
• Burgundy, Champagne, and Mosel: Warmer growing seasons make it easier to produce wines more consistently
• Norway and Sweden: As temperatures rise, we will see more wine coming from the region, both hybrid varietals that are made for colder temperatures and more traditional European varietals, such as Riesling
• Catalonia Region of Spain: The mountainous regions of Catalonia historically did not have enough intense periods of heat to support vineyards. That is changing with the diurnal shift (the temperature swing over a day). New vineyards 3-4k feet above sea-level are being planted

On the fall

• Yarra Valley, Australia: Grapes in the region were traditionally planted on the northern side of hills to ensure they received the most sunlight possible (and accelerate ripening). With climate change, growers are planting more and more grapes facing south whether the temperature is coolest to prevent over-ripening. We're starting to see the same thing in Napa and other regions (in the northern hemisphere, the southern side is the warmest and northern side the coolest)
• Bordeaux: The region recently added seven grape varietals as approved by the appellation authorities as a response to climate change, including touriga naciaonal (traditionally used for port), marselan, castets, and arinarnoa (cross between cab and tannat that is late ripening)

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/14/dining/drinks/climate-change-wine.html
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/global-warming-wine-industry1.htm