Unbeknownst to them, certain "hot spot" regions in the Old World have been literal and metaphorical hotbeds of research for vintners keen on fighting climate change for thousands of years.
These places have all, against steep odds, managed to cultivate grapes that can thrive amid – until recently – incomprehensible heat waves capable of melting an airport runway in London, a museum roof in China and blowing pipes up in Texas. Heat stress – which prevents the body from cooling itself – has been blamed for at least 15,000 deaths in Europe this summer alone.
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Wine grapes, one of the most delicate crops in the world and capable of thriving in just a handful of places with the right temperature range – about 54-72F (12-22C) on average during the growing season – soil, elevation and microclimate, are particularly vulnerable to the wild weather climate change has created. And keep in mind that premium grapes like Pinot Noir have much narrower ideal growing temperature ranges – about 3.6F. Now consider that the average growing season temperatures has spiked 2F since 1970 in the US.
Global warming hasn't been all bad for wine. It has made it possible for Vitis vinifera to thrive in inauspicious growing zones like England – even Sweden. But is also threatening wine production in gilded terroirs like Napa and Bordeaux. And the extreme swings – primarily represented by hail and frost – damaged or destroyed more than 74,000 acres of vines in France alone this year. World wine production in 2022 dipped below the average for the past 20 years, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, which pointed to drought, heat and frost as the culprits.
The situation sounds – and, to be sure, is – quite dire. But all is not lost. While governments have largely failed to execute the kind of effective and aggressive eco-programs that would halt or at least slow down climate change on a large scale, a band of cross-sectional institutional and individual bodies has emerged to do what they can, where they can.
In the wine arena, these institutions and producers are drawing from the wisdom cultivated in the hottest grape zones on the planet to figure out how on earth we can move forward, and continue drinking terroir-driven wine grown in places where for decades, sometimes centuries, the region's entire economic and social structure depends on wine.
Cross-border cooperation
The Porto Protocol Foundation, an international nonprofit founded by Taylor Fladgate Port, has emerged as the poster child of industry-led open border cooperation.
The Porto Protocol aims to fight the effects of climate change today, and prevent the carbon output that could create more climate change tomorrow, by targeting wine's entire value chain, from winegrowing and making, to packaging and production, says Marta Mendonca, the foundation's manager.
"Currently, we have about 220 members, and about half of them are winemakers," she says. "The rest are spread across the value chain, and they include retailers, consultants and distributors. Our whole purpose is to share knowledge and allow one small 400-case winemaker have access to data and experiments that helped a huge producer halfway across the world grow their grapes with fewer chemicals, or combat heat stress better or use less energy."
The organization works by sharing insights and data from experiments on anything related to wine and climate change – from growing to packaging. It is free to join, and all research is open-source and available to everyone on their website.
"We also organize climate talks with three or four experts on one topic a month, and we usually have about 50 people tune in the day of, but then we make it available on YouTube and our podcast, and we get hundreds of other listeners that way," Mendonca explains.
They also put growers and other industry pros into contact with each other across the globe.
"If you're a small producer in California just growing classic California grapes in your small vineyard in Sonoma, you may be so focused on that, you don't even consider the possibilities out there for grapes that would grow better in the changing climate, while still producing wines with aroma and flavor profiles you want," she says. "Our job is to think about your challenges, and think of other producers who may be able to provide you with solutions."
Farming for the future
Producers across the world, meanwhile, are taking cues from hot zones, and planting unfamiliar-to-them varietals for today, but also tomorrow.
"When I began my ranch in 2017, the goal was to plant varieties that would thrive in cool climates, but provide top quality wines," says Kelly Mulville, vineyard director at the 1000-acre Paicines Ranch Vineyard. Currently 25 acres of grapes are under vine: the selection includes Grenache, Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Assyrtiko, Verdejo, Syrah, Picpoul Blanc, Mencia, Counoise, Cinsault, Carignan, Ciliegielo, Muscat Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, Nero d'Avola and Fiano.
"I was recently in southern New Mexico, where they're planting Pinot Noir," Mulville says. "We're doing the opposite. We're not planting for where the market is right now, we're planting what's appropriate for the site, now and in the future."
Mulville explains that the list of winemakers who want his grapes – they just had their second harvest – is so long, they interview winemakers to see if they're a good fit for them, instead of the other way around.
"We want winemakers who are excited about our progressive farming practices and our grapes as we are, and who will help educate consumers," Mulville says, adding that there has been no pushback on some of the more unexpected varieties. "On the contrary. The winemaker who bottled our Assyrtiko by itself sold it out before it even landed in the bottle."
Like Mulville, Jeremy Carter is passionate about varieties that please his palate, but also can stand up to searing Napa summer heat. When he launched Tarpon Cellars in 2017, he sought out growers to partner with who were growing classic heat-tolerant varieties that consumers of California wine are familiar with – Zinfandel, Primitivo, Tempranillo – and more unexpected grapes – Verdejo, Nebbiolo, Terodelgo – with enough zip and brightness to cut through the uber-opulent flavors on the menu in vineyards across the Golden State.
"This summer we had nonstop heat issues and frost in March and April too," Carter says. "I feel like I say this every year now, but this was our earliest harvest to date. Our last pick day was September 13, and I remember when I moved here in 2007, we were picking on Halloween, and sometimes through November. Now I tell people to be ready to start harvest on August 1."
Like Mulville, Carter is finding an eager market for his wares.
"We spend a lot of time in the market doing education and wine dinners," he says. "We started out completely DTC, with 800 cases, and now we're at 10,000 and we're distributed in 15 states. It's because we're working with grapes that are appropriate for the climate, and create the best expressions of that vintage and place, instead of focusing on the brand grape names."
At Hither & Yon, which has close to 200 acres under vine in Australia's McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills, brothers Richard and Malcolm Leask are focusing on varieties that are "efficient water users, healthy yielders and later ripening, with higher natural acid", Malcolm says, due to consistently higher temperatures (an increase of about 2F on average there since 1980) with unpredictable precipitation patterns and disease pressure.
"Grenache is great for its flexibility, its lighter style," Malcolm says. "Aglianico is a red variety we are very passionate about, and very expressive with lots of personality. We are chasing tension and refreshment, and Agli does that in our rosé and a punchy red."
The old bringing in the (old) new
Some winemakers, in lieu of making a single varietal bottling of tongue-twister grapes that their tried-and-true clientele may blanch at, are cultivating experimental plantings with the goal of punching up their successful Bordeaux blends and Napa Cabs.
"We are trying to farm our Cabernet Sauvignon differently, and we also planted eight experimental varieties across three acres with the goal of retaining our house style, and delivering classic Cabernets by blending in other varieties as needed to add acid or color when they might be lacking," says Larkmead's winemaker Avery Heelan.
Currently, Larkmead's experimental plot contains Chenin Blanc, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Aglianico, Tempranillo, Charbono, Touriga Nacional and Shiraz.
"Larkmead has been a Cabernet house in Napa for more than 130 years," Heelan continues. "We don't see that changing. But many of these grapes come from hot and dry regions in Spain, Portugal and Italy. They have very long ripening windows, with super bright acid. We see a lot of potential."
The vinifying will begin next year, and Heelan confesses that her personal favorites are Tempranillo and Charbono. "But we'll see."
At Paso Robles' San Antonio Winery, fourth-generation vintner Anthony Riboli also insists that "Cabernet is still king".
But, the "super-high summer heat is forcing us to adapt", he says. "It's about farming, and also varieties. We can still call it a Cabernet if it is at 75 percent, and 25 percent is a lot of room to play with. We work mainly with Petit Verdot to brighten it as needed."
Riboli has embraced heat and drought-tolerant Rhône varieties, like Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. He also – accidentally – embraced Rioja's Graciano, after being told by his vine nursery it was Mourvèdre.
"When we found out, we were shocked," Riboli says. "It was growing so well in the heat, which, looking back now, makes sense. Now, we are expanding our plantings of Graciano because it's easier to manage here than Mourvèdre. It was an accident, but it made me realize that I had to look outside of what I knew, and in 2020, I started planting Sagrantino, Aglianico, Carignan, Alicante Bouschet and Tannat. We just planted Picpoul Blanc. We are really excited to see how they develop. They all have a lot of promise as blenders, and who knows? Maybe we'll do some single-varietal bottlings."
Studying the form
In Bordeaux, where France's national appellation body, the INAO, unveiled four new red and two new white grape varieties approved for inclusion on blends to great fanfare (and in some cases, consternation) in 2021, winegrower Jonathan Ducourt is combating the warmer temperatures with an array of nontraditional grapes, and even – le gasp! – hybrids. Twenty years ago, Ducourt had five classic Bordeaux varieties planted; now there are 12 grapes planted.
"Grapes like Merlot tend to go too high in ABV now," Ducourt says. "It's no longer unusual in Saint-Émilion to see 14 or 15 percent. Our Sauvignon Blanc is suffering from warmer temperatures too, especially at night when the temperature doesn't go down as it used to, and we lose the freshness and citrus fruit flavors."
Ducourt has planted 22.5 acres of Colombard to blend with the Sauvignon Blanc, usually at a ratio of 15-30 percent Colombard, and 70-85 percent Sauvignon Blanc. He has also planted about 12 acres of Petit Verdot, though the vineyard has been too young for use yet.
"Bordeaux has always evolved with the grape varieties planted in the region," says Ducourt. "Surely the ones we have today are not the ones we will grow in 50-100 years. It is up to us now to test the varieties that will be part of Bordeaux blend for the future generation."
Some winemakers saw the writing on the wall years ago. One of the most radical and long-term climate change stymieing experiments is happening in a field of Alentejo, Portugal, which has been suffering through extremely hot summers and its worst drought in at least 500 years, according to European climate experts.
In 2010, Herdade do Esporao planted 189 varieties of grapes – most of which are native to Alentejo and other regions in Portugal, but also include other rare grapes, primarily native to France, Italy and Spain – across 25 acres, with the goal of seeking naturally pest-resistant grapes that can thrive in an increasingly hot, dry climate.
"We are finding that the grapes that are native to the region seem to be stronger and better able to adapt," says Teresa Gaspar, the white wine enologist at Esporao. "We are still experimenting, and taking our time to observe the grapes under different conditions – with water, dry-farmed – and in micro-vinifications. Right now, Loureiro and Galego Dourado are very promising."
There are more than 10,000 wine grapes on the planet, but just 13 occupy about one-third of the vine area of the world, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. As wonderful as the Cabernets and Chardonnays of the world are, the climate is going to force our palates to welcome a few new grapes to the party.
