The climate change riddle

Australia is burning. The cause of more than 1,000 bushfires across the continent is probably climate change: simplistically, an extended dry season before the onset of summer (December-January), exacerbated by the late withdrawal of the monsoons in the Indian sub-continent in 2019.

Climate change is a fact, even if naysayers contest the science. The globe is warming up at an unprecedented rate, and high temperatures in one place mean colder winters in another; drought here leads to floods elsewhere — the whole weather system is interconnected.

What does this mean for the wine industry?

The wine grape vitis vinefera is famously adaptable to different terroir: witness vineyards flourishing in areas as diverse as 59 degrees 40’ north (Lerkekåsa Vineyard, Norway) to almost on the Equator (Dominique Auroy, Tahiti); from an elevation of 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) above sea level (the Altura Maxima vineyard of Bodega Colome, Argentina) to one where the vineyard is partially underwater for one month annually (Domaine Royal de Jarras, Languedoc, France).

So growing wine grapes and producing wine will not die out anytime soon — in fact, warmer summers have produced almost double the “vintage” years in Bordeaux in the last 35 years (23) than between 1900 and 1985 (14), and the average alcohol in wines has risen from 11.5 per cent in 1985 to 12.5 per cent today.

The real challenge facing vignerons is how to adapt to climate change. While some action has already started being taken, responses will be some combination of the following:

Change viticultural practices: (1) Harvest earlier, before grapes become too sweet. In Nashik the grape harvest used to start on 1 February — Sula now starts picking its whites in mid-December. (2) Start using drip irrigation when rainfall becomes insufficient: Particularly relevant in Europe, where many regions have traditionally depended only on rainfall to irrigate vineyards.

Plant new varietals: Some grapes are better at tackling warmer climate than others. Many regions in Europe have traditionally defined what grapes may be planted where: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy; Riesling in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot in Bordeaux, and so on. Some regions are already muddying the mix: Bordeaux winemakers have recently voted to allow seven new grapes in the region, including Marselan, Touriga Nacional and Alvarihno.

Explore new areas: Warmer climes are opening up areas for viticulture that did not exist 35 years earlier, and this trend will only accelerate. The most startling example is the growth of vineyards in the south of England, where today there are some 700 vineyards on about 5,000 acres (about as much as all of India), producing world-class whites and sparkling wines.

So, vineyards will both go to higher latitudes (in Europe and North America as well as South America) as well as upwards, to higher altitudes, particularly in Argentina and Chile, but also in Europe, where mountain ranges surround many of the wine-producing regions. So expect may changes in the wines available — let’s only hope that wine quality continues to improve.

Wines I’ve been drinking: The 2011 Cheval des Andes opened last Saturday by Devesh Agarwal for The Wine Connoisseur’s dinner at the J W Marriott Bangalore was simply outstanding. Produced by a JV between Bordeaux producer Chateau Cheval Blanc and local major Terrazas, the wine (93 points, $100) is a Malbec (69 per cent) Cab (21 per cent) Petit Verdot (10 per cent) blend that could be termed an “Argentinean Bordeaux Blend”. Full-bodied, with aromas and flavours of plums, dark cherries, spice, and some chocolate notes, with an extended finish. Yum!

Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant