28 May
2006 - Winemakers from Spain are trying to adapt
to the devastating impacts of climate change:
shading vineyards, developing heat-resistance
crops and moving to cooler mountainside locations.
According to Jose Manuel Moreno,
Professor of Climatology at the University of
Castilla La Mancha, temperatures may rise by 7oC
by the end of the century. Moreno explains why
the warming is problematic: “Warming will harm
plants that last more than one season, such as
grape vines, the most. Agriculture will need to
change, and there will be winners and losers.”
Spain is Europe's largest grape-growing
nation. The average maximum day temperature in
Spain during the summer is 29oC. In Malaga and
Cadiz, the most southern wine-growing regions,
temperatures can rise as high as 40oC during the
summer months. As the major European wine producer
closest to the equator, Spain is particularly
vulnerable to climatic changes.
Xavier Sort is Technical Director
at Miguel Torres SA, the Barcelona-based producer
of Sangre de Toro wine. He worries: “Any increase
in temperature in Spain may make it impossible
to produce wine in lower areas.” Currently, his
company is buying fields in the peaks of north
eastern Spain, where the weather is cooler. “There
may be a move of wineries into the Pyrenees in
the future,” said Sort.
What happens to the
wine when the mercury goes up?
The growing temperature is such
a threat to Spanish wine, because it significantly
changes the biological processes. Heat and sunlight
increase sugar levels in wine grapes, which can
boost alcohol content beyond what is palatable.
Hotter weather may also curb grape acidity, changing
the flavour of the wine. Unexpectedly rainy and
cold seasons can devastate a year's crop.
Small changes can already have
huge impacts. Bernard Seguin, a scientist at France's
National Institute for Agronomic Research, said:
“One degree of climate change makes wine-growing
regions in the Northern Hemisphere similar to
regions 200 kilometres further south. To me, this
is the most direct and striking example of the
warming until now.”
WWF has recently interviewed
José Luis Oliveros Zafra, a farmer from
Castilla La-Mancha in Spain. Witnessing the same
impacts as the winegrowers in his region, he has
suffered huge losses because of climate impacts.
Zafra believes that people and nature will not
have time to adapt, if the changes keep occurring
as fast as they do now.
Climate change is happening
now and greenhouse gas emissions are the main
culprit. WWF is asking both industry and governments
to reduce CO2 emissions, increase the use of renewable
energy and implement energy efficiency measures.
