AUSTRALIAN WINE A VICTIM OF CLIMATE CHANGE. DROUGHT HAS CAUSED PRODUCTION TO PLUMMET, AND MADE VARIETAL CHANGES NECESSARY. TOP CHOICES ARE ITALIAN SAGRANTINO AND VERMENTINO, AS WELL AS SPANISH TEMPRANILLO

AUSTRALIAN WINE A VICTIM OF CLIMATE CHANGE. DROUGHT HAS CAUSED PRODUCTION TO PLUMMET, AND MADE VARIETAL CHANGES NECESSARY. TOP CHOICES ARE ITALIAN SAGRANTINO AND VERMENTINO, AS WELL AS SPANISH TEMPRANILLO
Australian producers have, for decades now, enjoyed abundant and high quality harvests, cultivating the most prestigious European grape varietals and reaping huge success worldwide. But it now seems that they are the first to succumb to the effects climate change has had on agriculture.
After a long drought, many producers have had to abandon their vineyards, while others have been forced to take into consideration the use of more resistant varietals from Sicily, Spain or North Africa.

According to estimates by the Winemakers’ Federation, 1,000 of the 7,000 viticulturalists in Australia could be forced to quit production because their vineyards are no longer fit for use. The 2008 harvest will be far below the average, causing serious consequences for exports, which until now had averaged a worth of about 1.8 billion euros.

The main winemaking regions of Australia depend on irrigation for survival and the high cost of water (that more than tripled in 2007, reaching 600 euros per megaliter) is causing serious problems. The recent rains helped the inland winemaking regions, but those along the western coast received rains too late in the season to revive vineyards and they mostly just caused mould type infestations.

According to a study by the National Research Entity Csiro, the temperatures within the three main winemaking areas of Australia - Riverland, along the Murray River in southern Australia, Mildura, in the Murray valley in Victoria, and Riverina, near the Murrumbidgee River in New Galles in the south – will increase 2.5 degrees centigrade by the year 2030.
Producers must, therefore, start using more drought resistant grape varietals like those from Italy (Vermentino and Sagrantino) or Spain (Tempranillo).
It will take months, or even years, however, to import new varieties because of Australia’s severe quarantine system. And after that, 3-4 years to establish a new stock of vineyards for commercial production.
For winemakers who are already seriously in debt, this wait is too long. But to continue to use the varieties that are currently being used (like Chardonnay, Semillon and Riesling for white wines, and Cabernet, Merlot and Shiraz for red wines), the areas of production must now move towards cooler climates like Victoria and the island of Tasmania. For this reason, the future is looking promising for nearby (and cooler climated) New Zealand, which is already producing high quality wines with high volumes of exports.