June 17, 2015
Monday the Vinexpo trade show in Bordeaux began, amidst awareness that the French wine industry must innovate in the face of global warming. The French wine industry (which employs half a million people), has been aware of the threat posed to its delicate crop by the effects of greenhouse gases for some time. Since the decade beginning in 2000 the changes have been apparent in the Bordeaux region: fewer frosts, perhaps a little less rain, no unusual thaws, but the phenomenon is there. When the wind blows, it might be stronger, the showers more violent. The weather is less stable. Nothing very troublesome from day to day, but all that obliges us to reflect", explained Michel Rolland, a consultant oenologist to tens of wineries around the world, quoted in Le Figaro.
The situation might, nevertheless, be worse than it first seems. Temperatures in the Bordeaux area the last 30 years are the hottest in 1400 years, the article in last Sunday's paper reports. The climactic conditions of Bordeaux 30 years ago are now found 100 kilometers to the north of the Bordelais and at altitudes 200 meters higher. MeteoFrance anticipates an important increase in the risks of drought on France's Atlantic coast. So the future has to be planned for.
Today, wine grapes mature sooner, during hotter weeks. That changes the grape, making it more sweet and producing wines higher in alcohol content. Whereas in years past, winegrowers sought to harvest sooner rather than later, they now find themselves trying to find ways to brake the growth cycle. For instance, the grape clusters are trained as high as possible, as the higher they are the less affected by the heat of the sun they will be. Growers are also increasing the number of plantings that give shade to the grapes. Researchers are also experimenting with clones of various varietals.
However, there are complications associated with this at the level of the most exquisite of the French wines, those produced under the appellations d'origine controlees ("A.O.C."). Bordeaux, Alsace, Burgundy and Champagne, all the great wine growing regions, are all governed by rules of production for their finest wines, specifications which penalize growers who use wines other than those part of the traditional composition of the wines. Wines varying from the classic combinations cannot be sold under the A.O.C. rubric and become mere table wine, a much cheaper product.
Thus, until the regulations are modified to encourage the experimentation needed to adapt the A.O.C. wines to climate change, the grands appellations will be slow to adapt, notwithstanding the threat to the future livelihood. Nothing will replace experimentation on the vines on a large scale. There's nothing worse than working in a rush. It would be better to erect the scaffolding of a long-term plan now than to wait for 2025, only to say "Shucks! Growing merlot is no longer possible in Bordeaux, what do we do now? commented Michel Rolland.
Of course, the characteristic taste of a particular wine may change, even as it becomes capable of surviving the change in temperatures in the region of its production. Once the French have anticipated the problem, there's no cause for complaint, says Rolland with typical frankness.
(All quotes are from the article Le vignoble francais s'adapts au rechauffement climatique, published in Le Figaro of Sunday, June 14, 2015.)
Incidentally, caveat emptor: the new term for what used to be called vin du table is vin de France.
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