Frog Blog ~ How Climate Change Will Affect Wine as We Know It!

The effects of climate change will impact where your wine comes from and what varietal you’ll be drinking.

Scientists have repeatedly said we have 30 years before irreparable damage to the environment will occur if we continue to pollute, consume, exhaust the earth’s resources and encroach on wildlife habitats.

A Time for Reflection

COVID-19 has caused most of the world to press the pause button. It has also given us another opportunity to reflect. The virus itself is proof we are doing something wrong. Having viruses jump from wildlife to humans is preventable.

Wine Future Looks Bleak

Maclean’s Magazine recently reported on Elizabeth Wolkovich, a Canadian researcher from the University of British Columbia. Her studies show – when global average temperatures reach 2° C above historic norms—more than half the planet’s current wine-grape-growing regions will be inhospitable to the types of grapes they grow now. A few decades later, at 4° C warming, the figure is 85 per cent. Even if growers take their grapes to more wine-friendly areas in the future, the land capable of growing the vines falls by half at 2° C and by three-quarters at 4° C.

You may say, ” but it’s only wine and we can live without it”. However, the pattern suggests that this could be the fate of other food crops.

Regions Already Affected

Weather extremes, such as frost, heavy rain, hail, extreme hot temperatures, drought and even fire are taking a toll on vineyards around the world. Remember the recent fires in Australia, Napa & Sonoma (California); April frost and summer heat waves in 2019 in Champagne and Burgundy. Unpredictability is becoming the norm in wine growing regions. However, climate warming has been happening for several decades – so now in Alsace the growing season is shorter and harvest has shifted from October to September.

Future trends?

1. More frequent “good” vintages in regions such as Burgundy, Barolo, Mosel etc. due to warmer growing seasons
2. Quality wine production in historically unsuitable places like England
3. Wine regions are expanding further north (e.g., vineyards are being planted in Sweden) and further south (e.g., Patagonia in Argentina)
4. Vineyards are being planted at higher altitudes (e.g., northern Argentina has vineyards as high as 3,350 m)
5. Avoiding too much sun & overripe grapes – vineyards may plant more cool loving grapes (e.g., Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo) and seek north facing exposures (in the northern hemisphere) and south facing exposures (in southern hemispheres) to offset the intensity of the sun
6. A rethinking of which grape varieties can be grown where – can you imagine Napa without Cabernet Sauvignon?
7. Your wine may taste different – warming temperatures and a rise in CO2 can affect actual grape chemistry with aroma and flavour changes

So, cherish what we have now. And do what you can to protect the future.

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