Hotter temperatures threaten global wine production, with multiple studies now forecasting that more than half of regions suitable to planting wine grapes could be lost to climate change.
Hotter temperatures threaten global wine production, with multiple studies now forecasting that more than half of regions suitable to planting wine grapes could be lost to climate change.
But not all is lost: Swapping out grapes for more drought and heat tolerant varieties can offer a way forward for winemakers, finds new research from the University of British Columbia and other collaborating institutions.
“Substituting Grenache or Cabernet Sauvignon for Pinot Noir, planting Trebbiano where Riesling is grown—these aren’t painless shifts to make, but they can ease winegrowers’ transition to a new and warmer world,” says the study’s senior author Elizabeth Wolkovich, a professor of forest and conservation sciences at UBC who studies resilience strategies for agricultural and forest ecosystems.
Wine grapes are extremely sensitive to climate, especially temperature. Combining long-term records with global data on where different wine grapes are planted, the research team showed that if global temperatures rise by an average of two degrees Celsius—in line with current trends—at least 51 per cent of current wine growing regions could be wiped out.
Read more at University of British Columbia
Image: Syrah, a more heat tolerant variety (Credit: University of British Columbia)
