scholarly journals The Impact of Climate Change on Viticulture and Wine Quality

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelis van Leeuwen ◽  
Philippe Darriet

AbstractClimate change is a major challenge in wine production. Temperatures are increasing worldwide, and most regions are exposed to water deficits more frequently. Higher temperatures trigger advanced phenology. This shifts the ripening phase to warmer periods in the summer, which will affect grape composition, in particular with respect to aroma compounds. Increased water stress reduces yields and modifies fruit composition. The frequency of extreme climatic events (hail, flooding) is likely to increase. Depending on the region and the amount of change, this may have positive or negative implications on wine quality. Adaptation strategies are needed to continue to produce high-quality wines and to preserve their typicity according to their origin in a changing climate. The choice of plant material is a valuable resource to implement these strategies. (JEL Classifications: Q13, Q54)

OENO One ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelis Van Leeuwen ◽  
Agnès Destrac-Irvine

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aim:</strong> Major effects of climate change are an increase in temperature, a modification in rainfall patterns and an increase in incoming radiations, in particular UV-Bs. Grapevines are highly sensitive to climatic conditions. Hence, plant development, grape ripening and grape composition at ripeness are modified by climate change. Some of these changes are already visible and will be amplified over the coming decades; other effects, although not yet measurable, can be predicted by modeling. The objective of this paper is to assess which modifications in wine quality and typicity can be expected and what levers growers can implement to adapt to this changing situation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results:</strong> This paper focusses on the effect of temperature, vine water status and UV-B radiation in viticulture. Vine phenology is driven by temperacture. A significant advance in phenology (i.e. budburst, flowering and veraison dates) has been observed since the early 1980’s in most winegrowing regions. The combined effect of advanced phenology and increased temperatures results in warmer conditions during grape ripening. In these conditions, grapes contain more sugar and less organic acids. Composition in secondary metabolites, and in particular aromas and aroma precursors, is dramatically changed. Increased drought, because of lower summer rain and/or because of higher reference evapotranspiration (ET<sub>0</sub>), induces earlier shoot growth cessation, reduced berry size, increased content in skin phenolic compounds, lower malic acid concentrations and modified aroma and aroma precursor profiles. Increased UV-B radiation enhances the accumulation of skin phenolics and modifies aroma and aroma precursor profiles. Over the next decades, an amplification of these trends is highly likely. Major adaptations can be reached though modifications in plant material (grapevine varieties, clones and root stocks), vineyard management techniques (grapevine architecture, canopy management, harvest dates, vineyard floor management, timing of harvest, irrigation) or site selection (altitude, aspect, soil water holding capacity).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Climate change will induce changes in grape composition which will modify wine quality and typicity. However, these modifications can be limited through adaptations in the vineyard.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Significance and impact of the study:</strong>  This study assesses the impact of major climatic parameters (temperature, water and radiation) on vine physiology and grape ripening. It addresses the issue of how the expected changes under climate change will impact viticulture. It is shown that appropriate levers do exist to allow growers to adapt to this new situation. Among these, modifications in plant material and viticultural techniques are the most promising tools.</p><div> </div>


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Ollat ◽  
Jean-Marc Touzard ◽  
Cornelis van Leeuwen

AbstractClimate change will have a profound effect on vine growing worldwide. Wine quality will also be affected, which will raise economic issues. Possible adaptations may result from changes in plant material, viticultural techniques, and the wine-making process. Relocation of vineyards to cooler areas and increased irrigation are other options, but they may result in potential conflicts for land and water use. Grapes are currently grown in many regions around the world, and growers have adapted their practices to the wide range of climatic conditions that can be found among or inside these areas. This knowledge is precious for identifying potential adaptations to climate change. Because climate change affects all activities linked to wine production (grape growing, wine making, wine economics, and environmental issues), multidisciplinary research is needed to guide growers to continue to produce high-quality wines in an economical and environmentally sustainable way. An example of such an interdisciplinary study is the French LACCAVE (long-term adaptation to climate change in viticulture and enology) project, in which researchers from 23 institutes work together on all issues related to the impact of climate change on wine production. (JEL Classifications: Q1, Q5)


OENO One ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelis Van Leeuwen ◽  
Agnès Destrac-Irvine

Aim: Major effects of climate change are an increase in temperature, a modification in rainfall patterns and an increase in incoming radiations, in particular UV-Bs. Grapevines are highly sensitive to climatic conditions. Hence, plant development, grape ripening and grape composition at ripeness are modified by climate change. Some of these changes are already visible and will be amplified over the coming decades; other effects, although not yet measurable, can be predicted by modeling. The objective of this paper is to assess which modifications in wine quality and typicity can be expected and what levers growers can implement to adapt to this changing situation. Methods and results: This paper focusses on the effect of temperature, vine water status and UV-B radiation in viticulture. Vine phenology is driven by temperacture. A significant advance in phenology (i.e. budburst, flowering and veraison dates) has been observed since the early 1980’s in most winegrowing regions. The combined effect of advanced phenology and increased temperatures results in warmer conditions during grape ripening. In these conditions, grapes contain more sugar and less organic acids. Composition in secondary metabolites, and in particular aromas and aroma precursors, is dramatically changed. Increased drought, because of lower summer rain and/or because of higher reference evapotranspiration (ET0), induces earlier shoot growth cessation, reduced berry size, increased content in skin phenolic compounds, lower malic acid concentrations and modified aroma and aroma precursor profiles. Increased UV-B radiation enhances the accumulation of skin phenolics and modifies aroma and aroma precursor profiles. Over the next decades, an amplification of these trends is highly likely. Major adaptations can be reached though modifications in plant material (grapevine varieties, clones and root stocks), vineyard management techniques (grapevine architecture, canopy management, harvest dates, vineyard floor management, timing of harvest, irrigation) or site selection (altitude, aspect, soil water holding capacity). Conclusion: Climate change will induce changes in grape composition which will modify wine quality and typicity. However, these modifications can be limited through adaptations in the vineyard.Significance and impact of the study:  This study assesses the impact of major climatic parameters (temperature, water and radiation) on vine physiology and grape ripening. It addresses the issue of how the expected changes under climate change will impact viticulture. It is shown that appropriate levers do exist to allow growers to adapt to this new situation. Among these, modifications in plant material and viticultural techniques are the most promising tools. 


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 514 ◽  
Author(s):  
van Leeuwen ◽  
Destrac-Irvine ◽  
Dubernet ◽  
Duchêne ◽  
Gowdy ◽  
...  

Climate change will impose increasingly warm and dry conditions on vineyards. Wine quality and yield are strongly influenced by climatic conditions and depend on complex interactions between temperatures, water availability, plant material, and viticultural techniques. In established winegrowing regions, growers have optimized yield and quality by choosing plant material and viticultural techniques according to local climatic conditions, but as the climate changes, these will need to be adjusted. Adaptations to higher temperatures include changing plant material (e.g., rootstocks, cultivars and clones) and modifying viticultural techniques (e.g., changing trunk height, leaf area to fruit weight ratio, timing of pruning) such that harvest dates are maintained in the optimal period at the end of September or early October in the Northern Hemisphere. Vineyards can be made more resilient to drought by planting drought resistant plant material, modifying training systems (e.g., goblet bush vines, or trellised vineyards at wider row spacing), or selecting soils with greater soil water holding capacity. While most vineyards in Europe are currently dry-farmed, irrigation may also be an option to grow sustainable yields under increasingly dry conditions but consideration must be given to associated impacts on water resources and the environment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Chang-Fung-Martel ◽  
M. T. Harrison ◽  
R. Rawnsley ◽  
A. P. Smith ◽  
H. Meinke

Extreme climatic events such as heat waves, extreme rainfall and prolonged dry periods are a significant challenge to the productivity and profitability of dairy systems. Despite projections of more frequent extreme events, increasing temperatures and reduced precipitation, studies on the impact of these extreme climatic events on pasture-based dairy systems remain uncommon. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated Australia to be one of the most negatively impacted regions with additional studies estimating Australian production losses of around 16% in the agricultural sector and 9–19% between the present and 2050 in the south-eastern dairy regions of Australia due to climate change. Here we review the literature on the impact of climate change on pasture-based dairy systems with particular focus on extreme climatic events. We provide an insight into current methods for assessing and quantifying heat stress highlighting the impacts on pastures and animals including the associated potential productivity losses and conclude by outlining potential adaptation strategies for improving the resilience of the whole-farm systems to climate change. Adapting milking routines, calving systems and the introduction of heat stress tolerant dairy cow breeds are some proposed strategies. Changes in pasture production would also include alternative pasture species better adapted to climate extremes such as heat waves and prolonged periods of water deficit. In order to develop effective adaptation strategies we also need to focus on issues such as water availability, animal health and associated energy costs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Massano ◽  
Giorgia Fosser ◽  
Marco Gaetani

&lt;p&gt;In Italy the wine industry is an economic asset representing the 8% of the annual turnover of the Food &amp; Beverage sector, according to Unicredit Industry Book 2019. Viticulture is strongly influenced by weather and climate, and winegrowers in Europe have already experienced the impact of climate change in terms of more frequent drought periods, warmer and longer growing seasons and an increased frequency of weather extremes. These changes impact on both yield production and wine quality.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our study aims to understand the impact of climate change on wine production, to estimate the risks associated with climate factors and to suggest appropriate adaptation measurement. The weather variables that most influence grape growth are: temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration. Starting for these variables we calculate a range of bioclimatic indices, selected following the International Organisation of Vine and Wine Guidelines (OIV), and correlate these with wine productivity data. According to the values of different indices it is possible to determine the more suitable areas for wine production, where we expect higher productivity, although the climate is not the only factor influencing yield.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Using the convection-permitting models (CPMs &amp;#8211; 2.2 horizontal resolution) we investigate how the bioclimatic indices changed in the last 20 years, and the impact of this change on grapes productivity. We look at possible climate trends and at the variation in the frequency distribution of extreme weather events. The CPMs are likely the best available option for this kind of impact studies since they allow a better representation of surface and orography field, explicitly resolve deep convection and show an improved representation of extremes events. In our study, we compare CPMs with regional climate models (RCMs &amp;#8211; 12 km horizontal resolution) to evaluate the possible added value of high resolution models for impact studies. To compare models' output to observation the same analysis it carried out using E-OBS dataset.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Through our impact study, we aim to provide a tool that winegrower and stakeholders involved in the wine business can use to make their activities more sustainable and more resilient to climate change.&lt;/p&gt;


OENO One ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magali Blank ◽  
Marco Hofmann ◽  
Manfred Stoll

Aims: A better understanding of the relationship between weather conditions and wine quality would provide tools for assessing the impact of climate change and the potential for adaptation. Most studies rely on assessing wine quality by the price per bottle or by an overall ranking and then establishing general relations to weather conditions. However, such an approach may imply the addition of bias by variable winemaking techniques overcoming vintage effects. The aim of our study was therefore to implement a controlled conditions approach using grape samples from a single vineyard and a standardized micro-scale winemaking technique to produce wines in similar conditions for each vintage over more than a decade. We hope that this data will allow new insights into responses to climatic differences.Methods and results: From 2005 to 2015, data was collected from a vineyard of Hochschule Geisenheim University planted with Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot Noir grafted on rootstock SO4 in four field replicates. Weather conditions were recorded together with the major phenological stages, yield, infection of the bunches by Botrytis cinerea bunch rot, and pruning weight. Key primary juice compounds were analyzed and berry phenolics in skins and seeds were determined before harvest. Micro-scale winemaking was developed to produce wines in standardized conditions. The repeatability of the method to assess the extraction of anthocyanins and tannins was shown to be 2–10% and 8–12%, respectively, depending on grape maturity stage. Sugar accumulation was coupled to warmer conditions during the maturation period, and high temperatures after véraison decreased the concentration of malic acid in the juice. The accumulation of primary amino acids (N-OPA) in the juices seemed positively related to warmer conditions between bud break and flowering. Increased temperature, especially before véraison, accompanied by a lack of precipitation was related to an accumulation of tannins in fruit and wine, with a higher accumulation in skins than seeds. The temperature-sensitive anthocyanin accumulation in grapes was coupled to warmer conditions after véraison. These differences in anthocyanin concentration could also be observed in the wine.Conclusions: High-quality vintages were linked to warmer than normal growing seasons and below normal precipitation.Significance and impact of the study: The use of a micro-scale winemaking technique represents an innovative tool to provide detailed information in a controlled and reproducible way. A better understanding of the interaction between weather conditions and berry/wine compounds will help with developing improved winemaking techniques and better adapting to future impacts of climate change.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta Niklas

AbstractThis paper analyzes the impact of annual weather fluctuations on the total output of wine and on the share of output of different wine-quality categories in Germany, using a set of wine data from all thirteen German wine regions and daily weather data taken from regional weather stations. The empirical analysis suggests that rising average temperatures have a significantly positive impact on the total output of wine as well as on the output shares of wine in higher-quality categories. The number of freezing days appears to be detrimental to overall production; precipitation during the growing season impairs higher-quality wines in particular. (JEL Classifications: Q21, Q13)


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orley Ashenfelter ◽  
Karl Storchmann

AbstractIn this article, we provide an overview of the extensive literature on the impact of weather and climate on grapes and wine with the goal of describing how climate change is likely to affect their production. We start by discussing the physical impact of weather on vine phenology, berry composition, and yields and then survey the economic literature measuring the effects of temperature on wine quality, prices, costs, and profits and how climate change will affect these. We also describe what has been learned so far about possible adaptation strategies for grape growers that would allow them to mitigate the economic effects of climate change. We conclude that climate change is likely to produce winners and losers, with the winners being those closer to the North and South Poles. There are also likely to be some substantial short-run costs as growers adapt to climate change. Nevertheless, wine making has survived through thousands of years of recorded history, a history that includes large climate changes. (JEL Classifications: Q54, Q13)


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