Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Climate change and economic challenge – strategies for vinegrowers, winemakers and wine estates

Climate change and economic challenge – strategies for vinegrowers, winemakers and wine estates

Abstract

For wine areas around the world, nature and climate are becoming factors of production whose endowment becomes a stake beyond the traditional economic factors: labor, capital, land. They strongly influence agricultural and environmental conditions for production. With global warming new production areas are suitable for cultivation of vines with new people embarking on viticulture, preventive relocations are underway as well as land purchases which are anticipated future potential, cultivation practices evolve… A shift towards the poles (north and south) begins to be observed.

The people in charge of wine estates (winemakers, owners, managers,…) have to adjust continually to the impacts of climate change, a key and permanent concern today. In the vineyard as in the winery or in cellars adaptation is unceasing. Moreover, important observations of temporal and spatial variability of climate require unending monitoring in the vineyard, operations vital and costly in time. Simultaneously a strong spatial variability of climate on tight spaces requires responsiveness of winemakers in their plots because of high differences caused by local conditions (topography, soil, subsoil …) both in the short and medium term.

For wineries individual adjustment strategies, although still implemented through the centuries have become essential or crucial to the future of the working tool. The wide variety of situations (climatic, geographical, economic …) require new decisions to protect properties from incidents and accidents; the consequences of climate may jeopardize the survival of the wine estates especially the small ones (coverage risks, geographic diversification …). An individual or collective supervision is required to avoid uprooting of vines followed by losses and shortfalls in earnings over several years. Some recent situations are given as examples; they essentially concern familial estates in Burgundy from the vineyard to the choice of the type of produced wines.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: June 23, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Marie-Claude PICHERY

Laboratoire d’Economie de Dijon (LEDi), Pôle d’Economie et Gestion, BP 26611, F 21066 DIJON Cedex, France

Contact the author

Keywords

climate change, grape, strategies, vignerons, vines, wine, winemakers

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Implementation of hyperspectral image analysis for evaluating table grape quality on bunch and berry level

Typically, subjective, and visual methods are used by grape growers to assess harvest maturity. These methods may not accurately represent the maturity of an entire vineyard – especially if extensive and representative sampling was not used. New technologies have been investigated for improved harvest management decisions. Spectroscopy methods utilizing the near-infrared region of the light spectrum is one such technology investigated as an alternative to classic methods and particularly the application of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has recently gained attention in research. HIS is a spectroscopic technique that obtains hundreds of images at different wavelengths collecting spectral data for each pixel in the sample i.e., providing both spectral and spatial data.

Read More

WHEY protein hydrolysates enhance grapevine resilience to abiotic and biotic stresses

Context and purpose of the study. The growing need for sustainable solutions in viticulture has led to increased interest in biostimulants that can enhance plant resilience to both abiotic and biotic stresses.

Read More

Ripening behaviour and grape must quality of eleven white resistant varieties in Trentino

In a situation of uncertainty towards the overall effect of climate change and the reduction of pestice utilization on quality, the wine sector needs to maintain the profitability of producers, which inexorably depends on ensuring the quality of grapes and wines. Among the various alternatives that can be adopted, hybrid varieties carrying resistance genes are currently gaining the attention of researchers and producers. Some of them are already a reality and are included in the national catalogue of some countries, selected by research institutes all over Europe.

Read More

Significance of factors making Riesling an iconic grape variety

Riesling is the iconic grape variety of Germany and accounts for 23% of the German viticulture acreage, which comprises 45% of the worldwide Riesling plantings. Riesling wines offer a wide array of styles from crisp sparkling wines to highly concentrated and sweet Trockenbeerenauslese or Icewines. However, its thin berry skin makes Riesling more vulnerable to detrimental environmental threats than other white wine varieties.  

Read More

Within-vineyard spatial variation impacts methoxypyrazine accumulation in the rachis of Cabernet-Sauvignon

To investigate the impact of spatial variation in vine vigour on the accumulation of methoxypyrazines in the rachis of Cabernet-Sauvignon. Cabernet-Sauvignon rachis has been shown to contain significantly higher concentrations

Read More