It cannot be denied, the climate is literally going crazy all over the world: crazy temperatures, fires and desertification on one side, torrential rains, floods, hydrological instability, landslides on the other. You don't necessarily have to be a catastrophist to realize how much the already precarious balance of ecosystems is undoubtedly compromised and how the repercussions also affect us, our lives and daily activities.
Like all agricultural productions, viticulture is also preparing for the change. The vine is a plant sensitive to climatic changes, in particular the rising temperatures threaten the wine production, the yield and the composition of the grapes. This context imposes new technical solutions to producers: to harvest early, to consider a greater variety of grapes to grow and to evaluate the logic of redistributing the vineyards at different altitudes and latitudes, preferring higher altitudes and towards the north.
A study* published by INRAE (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) and published in Pnas (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) has documented that the 56% of the world's wine regions could disappear with a warming of +2°C by 2050 and the 85% with a warming of +4°C by 2100. The study highlighted the climate impact on eleven grape varieties: Cabernet-Sauvignon, Chasselas, Chardonnay, Grenache, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Ugni Blanc. These varieties represent the 35% of the cultivated area worldwide and between the 64% and 87% in many of the main wine producing countries, such as France, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States.
It is therefore necessary, at an international level, that the organizations representing the wine sector define a strategic plan for an adaptation to climate change.
There are no ready-made solutions. Adaptation is a slow process and requires the participation of all the subjects involved. The Comité Champagne presented at Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris the plan** which defines the global strategy to face the challenges in the next decade and which includes investments in R&D, sustainable development of the supply chain and consolidation of its fundamental missions aimed at protecting the denomination.
Specifically, to face the challenges of production and quality, the Champagne supply chain will equip itself with a new research, development and innovation center, which will be operational by 2025 and which will be characterized by the presence of a larger experimental cellar than to the existing one and a new one-hectare experimental platform.
The important investments in research also have the aim of adapting viticultural practices and guiding them in the choice of new vine varieties to cultivate, and will make it possible to marginalize, at least in part, the disappearance of some vineyards, guaranteeing availability, quality and at the same time consistency with the typical characteristics of Champagne wines. In fact, the Region joined the INRAE varietal innovation program in 2010 and created its own regional program in 2014.
Soil management is also a priority: identifying methods to combat the various forms of vineyard deterioration, including some diseases such as flavescence dorée, supporting the development and spread of sustainable viticultural practices that respect the environment, promote biodiversity and exclude the use of chemical fertilizers and plant protection products.
For the Champagne supply chain, fighting climate change and adapting to new environmental conditions is a necessity, and the commitment in this sense is demonstrated by the results achieved in recent years, which see the 100% of wine waste and 90% of industrial waste treated and the 20% reduction of the carbon footprint per bottle; moreover, the 63% of the winegrowing areas are in possession of an environmental certification with the aim of reaching 100% by 2030. The Comité Champagne also presented a strategy to reach the “Net Zero” Carbon goal by 2050, i.e. a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as close to zero as possible, with a circular economy approach.
All of these actions are aimed at guaranteeing the productivity and continuity of the Champagne vineyard in the coming decades, at conceiving and promoting a viticulture in balance with the ecosystem while maintaining quality production over time.
The future of wine-growing regions both on a local and global scale will therefore depend on the political and social decisions that will be taken in the coming years, as well as on the sustainable development objectives achieved, on the evolution of climate change and on adaptation to it.
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Sources:
- *Adapter les régions viticoles au changement climatique en mobilisant la diversité des cépages
- ** Press release The champagne supply chain launches a significant investment plan for the next 10 years
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