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Speaking at the Climate Change and Wine Conference in
Barcelona which was reported in the previous
issue of delWine, the Australian consultant on viticulture,
Dr Richard Smart said: "In 30 years time, China will be a country
better able to adapt to global warming." He was talking on 'global
warming and its impact on vines and viticulture' at the conference.
Dr. Smart is already involved in advising Chinese investors
looking to purchase suitable wine producing land and they are currently
looking at an area close to Beijing.
Smart said that while China, currently 8th largest producer
of grapes in the world is very wet near the coast and more arid towards
the inland, would provide exciting opportunities in the future, going
northwards.
Southern hemisphere regions like Chile, Argentina, Tasmania
and New Zealand, as well as Northern Europe and even some parts of China
are 'lucky', Smart suggested, as there was room for growers to move to
cooler or higher areas to plant grapes.
Growing new varieties of grapes especially for hotter
regions would be a crucial industry response to ongoing global warming,
he said. Smart also suggested harvesting at night and the utilization
of classical breeding rather than molecular techniques as a potential
solution.
The conference kicked off with an address from Pancho
Campo, President of the Wine Academy of Spain, and local politicians.
A spokesman from the Catalan department of climate said, 'There is no
point crying over spilt milk. We have to find solutions for our problems
and that is exactly what we intend to do today."
President of OIV, the International Organisation for
Vine and Wine, Peter Hayes said the challenges being posed by climate
change to the wine sector were reflected across the world. 'I hope we
might see action on regional planning" adding that it was a question
of allocation of resources.'
Bordeaux Must Change Varietals Too
'Bordeaux should explore the possibility of switching
grape varietals in facing climate change,' was also the conclusion of
Bruno Prats, winemaker and former owner of Chateau Cos D'Estournel, and
another winemaker from Bordeaux, Jacques Lurton.
Discussing the opportunities available by adapting grape
varietals in the region, Prats said: "When facing the issue of climate
change, strength of Bordeaux is in the possibility of changing grape varietals.
Petit Verdot is the grape with the most potential in this regard."
He conceded that there were many other possibilities in Bordeaux with
Malbec also playing an important part.
Lurton concurred by saying: "Petit Verdot and Malbec
allow us to explore new opportunities with regard to climate change,"
implying that many wine grape growing regions would become unsuitable
for their current varietals.
Citing sources like the Inter-governmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) and the French INRA (national agronomic research
institute) , Dr Smart said there is evidence that changes in temperature
of even one degree translate into dramatically different weather.
'I would ask anyone with a cellar full of known value
wines, have you thought about the fact that in Bordeaux, we may have already
seen the best vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon?' he said.
Pascal Chatonnet, another oenologist and consultant
winemaker taking part in the panel discussion said,' the choice of variety
would be a crucial one with winemakers now having to think 25 to 30 years
ahead'.
Adaptation to the unavoidable climate change has been
an important issue across the two-day conference.
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