How climate changes impact the wine production

It turned out that climate changes which scare people all over the world are beneficial for wine makers. 

The research published in Nature Climate Change journal was conducted by the Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Elizabeth Wolkovich, who found out thattoday grapes in vineyards across France ripe 2 weeks earlier than 25-30 years ago. Though, this trend is observed not only in France but also in Napa valley, California. 

Grapes, similar to some other fruits, sustain stressful weather conditions quite well. When grapevine faces climatic challenges it starts producing less but sweeter fruits. It attracts birds and animals which eat these fruits and “naturally plant” seeds afterward.Wine producers in their turn know that dry and hot weather means smaller harvest but a better wine. 

Early harvest also influences wine quality. The faster grapes ripe the less it is subjected to various risks (ground frost, fires, grapevine diseases, etc). Drought and hot weather not only result in better wine quality but better yield as well. Even though harvests are smaller, the quality of fruits is better.

The aforementioned research demonstrates that increase of air temperature also has negative consequences. Vineyards are very dependent from microclimate: humidity level, quality of soil and quantity of rainfall. For example, 2003 was a hot and dry year for French winemakers and not all grapes breeds reacted well to such weather conditions. Cases were registered when hot and dry weather damaged grapevines which were over 100 years old. Global warming also caused damage to French livestock and poultry farms. Hot weather results in a decrease of milk production by cows. Ducks bred in a hot climate don’t accrete fat which negatively impacts their weight and taste of meat.       

We are able to slow down the global warming but we can’t stop this process. That’s why agricultural producers should learn how to better adapt to new climate conditions and benefit from it.