Climate Change
Definition - What does Climate Change mean?
In the context of viticulture, Climate Change is the change in wine growing region climates as the average temperature of the Earth has steadily risen over the past 100 years and is expected to continue to rise. While the average temperature has risen 1.5 degrees F in the past 100 years, temperatures are expected to rise an additional 0.5 to over 8 degrees F in the next 100 years. Climate Change and warmer temperatures could lead to early wine grape harvests and to a change in the type and quality of wines vintners make by region.
WineFrog explains Climate Change
As climate change continues and temperatures change globally, wine growing regions will see a change in the growing season and the harvest of the grapes. Wine grape growers and vineyards have to navigate climate change in how they manage the wine grape growing season and harvest.
Warmer temperatures will lead to growing seasons starting earlier and earlier harvests, and growers will also have to learn new vineyard management techniques to deal with the changes in rainfall, drought or heat waves, which are predicted to occur as a result of climate change. These changes in the climate of growing region can affect the types of grapes that have been grown in the region due to the climate of the past, prompting some vineyards to abandon their acreages for other grape-positive locations where they can continue to grow their varietals or change the types of varietals they grow to more appropriate ones that will fare well in these new climates the future will bring.
