A study made by Greenpeace found out that climate change affects vineyards and yields a less satisfactory wine as a result.

The study reported that changes brought about by the increased average annual temperature in wines include taste, texture, color, aromatic expression, sugar levels and alcohol content. Wine processing is a “climatically-sensitive process” and wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are said to get their elegance from terroir, a term that refers to a very specific combination of climate and a well-defined territory, sometimes no bigger than a single plot of land.

It was reported that changing the location of the vineyard will not help in producing good wine.

Transformations in wine have been detected in 2003 when grapes from French vineyards generated higher sugar levels and alcohol content, an overripe flavor and heavier texture.

An estimated rise in temperature from 4 degrees Celsius to 6 degrees Celsius in the future could deplete traditional vineyards like the Mediterranean vineyards. Greenpeace said that because of this, the wine sector needs the reduction of carbon emissions by 40% in 2020.

A group of individuals from the French wine and food industries has written a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy which was published in the newspaper Le Monde asking the government to make a stand in the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen.

“The jewels of our cultural heritage, French wines, elegant and refined, are today in danger. Changes in the climate are leaving our vineyards increasingly vulnerable. Our wines could lose their soul,” the letter went.


-  Sunshine T. Santiago