CLIMATE IN THE VINEYARDS: ACCORDING TO THE MASTER OF WINE JANCIS ROBINSON, GLOBAL GROWTH OF AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IS OPENING TO ONCE UNTHINKABLE WINE PRODUCTION AREAS. LIKE IN CHINA, WHERE THE DEMAND HAS ONLY SLIGHTLY FALLEN

Bubbles in South England and Germany, an abundance of vineyards in China and even a few rows of grapevines in places that were once unimaginable, like Scandinavia. This is the snapshot of climate change for wine production by Jancis Robinson MW in the 7th issue of "World Atlas of Wine", which she co-authored with Hugh Johnson, and it is definitely impressive.

On the other hand, "the geography of the wine world has changed considerably: climate evolution is moving towards the poles of the planet and consequently China is now an important player for both consumer demand and production. Not to mention", said Robinson, that producing wine "has become the dream of every wealthy man”. The most recent OIV data speak of global production falling by about six percentage points in 2012, mainly due to lower yields in France, Spain, Italy and Argentina, but a slight increase in global consumption (+0.6%), partly due to "a slowdown of demand in China, due to a lower growth of buyers’ investment returns”.

Meanwhile, the growth of wine culture is opening up new markets for producers especially in Latin America, like in Mexico, "which is opening to the nectar of Bacchus though it was and still is, a country of beer drinkers. Global demand", said Robinson, “is evolving in unexpected places”.