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Scientists and wine-industry people met with one another in Spain to debate and showcase brand new strategies for adapting to and diminishing climate change at the 3rd annual World Conference on Climate Change in April 2011. The worldwide climatic events from 2010-2011 suggest why the climate is a big topic on winemakers’ minds. 2010 was the warmest year on record for the northern hemisphere, but even still it is the increasing climate variability that is to be most concerned about. Record hot summers and record cold winters, along with fire seasons and droughts, which lead to rainfall and flooding, are major causes for concern. The variability in climate produces substantial variability in production and grape quality (especially the balance between maturity in sugar content and aroma), and as a result it greatly influences economic risk in wine regions all over the world.

Bodegas Torres is a wine company hoping to make a difference by working with the Spanish government on a multimillion-euro nationwide research project that will study the mechanisms of wine’s adaptation to climate change. The company is working on testing new rootstocks that show increased resistance to drought or delay ripening to allow for the aroma to have additional time to mature. Its growers have recovered over 20 forgotten Catalonian grape varietals that they think will do better in high temperatures than common varieties imported from northern Europe.

Some in Chile’s central grape-growing valley are convinced that temperatures will continue to rise, and are opting to adapt to the change. Latin America’s largest wine producer took part in a thermographic study of the region that allowed it to identify new growing regions alongside river basins that act as corridors of air from the Pacific Ocean or the Andes mountains.

Others feel that while adapting to climate change in terms of producing wine is a short term fix, it still isn’t dealing with the heart of the problem which is only going to continue to get worse. They suggest that it’s more important to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and energy waste, and increase recycling at wineries.

Numerous wine companies are making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, and are making a point to let their customers know. Wineries have started putting less glass in their bottles to reduce the weight to help save on shipping and fuel expenses. Some wineries have abandoned glass altogether by bottling their sustainably grown grapes in plastic PET bottles. It is suggested that by doing this, a winery is cutting the carbon cost of transportation by over 60%. Other wineries are utilizing photovoltaic and solar panels to generate some 10% of their energy and 50% of their hot water.

Some suggest that the best way for winegrowers to combat the effects of climate variability is via holistic management of the natural systems on their property, which can climate-proof a region against floods and fires. The important thing for winemakers to know is that taking an active role in managing a vineyard’s natural systems is an important step to reduce their carbon footprint.

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