09 May 2007 - My name
is Johann Schnell and I have been working
for 15 years as a winemaker in a family
business. I took over the organically run
winery from my father 8 years ago . Being
a grape grower, I spend a lot of time outside
and have been observing changes in the climate.
I keep records of the time of grape harvesting
and wine alcohol content and the message
is clear it is getting warmer in Rheinhessen.
A switch to organic farming
30 years ago my father decided to change
his winery into an organically run cultivation.
He collected butterflies and he noticed
in 1970, when the first strong pesticides
were marketed, that the variety of species
of butterflies found in the vineyard was
reduced tremendously in a very short time.
He decided then, that the path chosen by
many other winemakers and farmers — away
from nature, to pesticides and fertilizers
— would not be his path. We view the vineyard
as part of the ecosystem. Organically made
wine is a sign of quality these days. It
gives the last finishing touches to the
wine, the final character. This is not achievable
with conventional cultivation.
I have dealt with climate changes since
I started growing grapes. There were years
with very strong frosts, sometimes even
as long as into May. Change in climate has
always been an issue for us. However, the
current changes are of a different nature.
It has become obviously warmer.
Recording the weather
A wine maker is obliged to make exact notes
about the time of harvesting and the "Oechlsegrad".
This is the sugar content of the grape juice,
which is responsible for the alcohol content
of the wine. Through these measurements
it is very easy to observe the changes in
climate in our region. Due to longer warm
periods, particularly higher temperatures
at night during autumn, the timeframe in
which the grape stores sugar has become
longer. This is why the alcohol content
has risen. Our notes started in 1974. We
have been measuring notably higher values
since 1998-99 when I took over the estate.
In the beginning we thought those years
might be exceptions. Since 2003 the measurements
have not returned to previous levels. These
days we have alcohol contents of 13-14 %.
When my father started out as a winegrower
those values were utopian and could only
be reached in exceptional summers such as
in 1976. The exception has become the rule
now.
The time of harvesting has changed to two
weeks earlier. In former times, winegrowers
pondered how to get the most sugar into
the grape. These days the question is different:
when is the grape physiological ripe, without
having stored too much sugar, so as not
to give too much alcohol content to the
wine? These days we are having an abnormal
situation. We have to harvest at times when
the "Oechlsegrad" is not too high.
A high sugar content is not favourable for
the white wines as we know and like them.
That is one reason why there are mainly
only red wines in the Mediterranean countries.
Increased viruses and fungi
We also fight more fungi and viral illnesses
these days. We have found species of Cicadas
which were in former times only found in
Mediterranean areas. These infect our vines
with viruses which some are very susceptible
to. The virus has a devastating effect on
the vine. Vines that just began to sprout
will die off within one week. Each year
about one to two percent of vines die off
per vineyard, and this trend is increasing.
There are also certain fungal infections,
which occur suddenly, with the effect of
killing healthy vine. Another example is
"black-spot" which causes the
grapes to go bad. The increase of such fungal
infections in the last years is due to warmer
nights in late summer and autumn. The warmer
it is, the shorter is the time needed to
infect vine by fungal infections.
The only way we can deal with the fungal
infections is to replant the vine. However,
this is not a long term solution. At some
stage it will not be worth it any more to
plant certain special vines. One way to
fight fungal infections in an ecological
way is by keeping the vine loosely planted
to keep good ventilation through the vine.
This requires lots of manual labour by picking
leaves of the grape zone and cutting out
grapes if they hang to close to each other.
We also have to spray more. Of course we
use ecological means, mainly copper and
sulphur. In the future, unfortunately, I
will be forced to plant vines that are more
resistant to fungal infections and does
not need spraying any more, such as Johanniter
for white wine and Regent for red wine.
One strategy to reduce the high alcohol
content would theoretically be the technical
de-alcoholising which is a common method
used in the new World. In Germany, luckily,
this method is not permitted, but is under
discussion. Being an organic farmer this
is not an option for me. This is a fundamental
principle. In the perspective of climate
change, it seems senseless, to me, to invent
new technical strategies to continue the
way we have always had.
Water shortage
For us organic winemakers the water shortage,
particularly in spring, makes it difficult
to plant vegetation among the wines. We
used to let plants and wine grow next to
each other at the same time in spring. These
days plants and wine compete for the little
water there is. This is the reason why we
sow Rapeseed in winter, which later turns
into organic fertilizer for the wine. However,
this problem is still manageable. For many
conventional winemakers the shortage of
water implies less return. This is a particular
problem for those who always look for the
maximum return. Germany has the highest
returns per hectare in all of Europe. This
can only be reached by maximal cultivation,
or high rainfall, or watering.
Winemaking will persist and not vanish.
One can grow wine grapes also in Australia,
for example. We will have to grow different
sorts of wine grape and our wines will change
There are wine grapes around of which we
have a certain and clear idea. One example
for this is our Riesling, a typical wine
not only for this region but also for Germany.
This particular wine changes its taste markedly.
It will have less acid but more alcohol
with a fruity, strong aroma. The question
is if the customer likes these changes to
the taste. It is also doubtful if we are
able to continue to grow this grape for
much longer, due to the increasing incidence
of viral illnesses.
A global issue
Of course, agriculture and wine growing
are used to changes in climate. One always
needs to adapt. However, we shall not forget,
that the changes I have noticed in my vineyard
are only signs of a much bigger, more global
problem. It has a much bigger implication
to lots of other people and cultures. In
this part of Germany we are quite protected
from raising sea levels. Bangladesh is not.
It is everyones' responsibility to do something
against climate change. It is everyones
fault, even if it has less implication for
our country than for other countries.
Minimising energy use
We have kept mechanism as sparse as possible.
This means we still harvest by hand and
I work with as few and as little machines,
with small horse power, as possible. We
have power solar panels on the roof and
have exchanged our oil heater for a wood-pellet
heater. On the estate we still use wooden
barrels and recycled glass for the wine
bottling. Many winemakers do not care, since
new glass is still so cheap. The reason
for this is that energy is still so cheap.
We try to work energy efficiently in every
way we possibly can on our estate.
