GLOBAL WARMING AND WINE: CHAMPAGNE MOVES TO SOUTH OF ENGLAND, AND ITALIAN VINEYARDS RISE IN ALTITUDE. ALCOHOL CONTENT IS ALSO ON THE RISE, REPORTS THE ANSA AGENCY

The news is cyclic, like heat waves or grape harvests: global warming will change the face of global viticulture. Winenews has dealt with this subject several times. The news agency Ansa has brought attention to it, thanks to the prolonged heat in August and September. Champagne has had to bow to climate change by moving to the south of England, and the future could be bleak even for Italian wines.

Some experts say the effects of higher temperatures are already evident, especially in alcohol content of wines, but even the perfume of the major wines, which just recently began grape harvesting, could be in danger.
“The phenomenon started in the mid-90s”, explains Roberto Zironi, Professor of Enology at the University of Udine, “wines that were 11-12 percent volume are now easily up to 14-15. Higher temperatures act in two different ways: raising the berry sugar content and therefore increasing the alcohol content, and decreasing the acidity and losing some of the perfume. There are varieties that have moved hundreds of miles north”. The problem is not just in Italy: some recent research has raised the alarm for Australian and Californian wines, too: “It is a global phenomenon,” continues the expert, “to the point that we are beginning to grow Champagne in the south of England. The same thing will happen in Italy with northern wines that are more and more like southern ones. One solution that is already being tried is to escape “up” to higher altitudes, but if the problem continues it will be hard to counter it”.
There are varieties that resist better than others: “we are experimenting and for example, Refosco with a red stalk, has shown excellent resistance even in Sicily,” said Enrico Peterlunger, an expert winemaker at the University of Friuli, “and for reds like Merlot and Cabernet there should be no problem. The main difficulties will be for aromatic whites, even though we are studying techniques, such as decreased exposure to the sun, that seem to mitigate the effects and preserve the aroma”. Meanwhile, those who are grape harvesting now are struggling with summer heat: “This is the first effect of climate change,” highlights Zironi, “once upon a time the grape harvest ended at chestnut season, now it starts in the summer”.