The climate's increasingly extreme changes have been the subject of seemingly endlessly news coverage, simply because their effects have already started to be felt in almost every conceivable industry. The global temperature has already risen 1.1C above its pre-industrial level, displacing millions of people through flooding, droughts and wildfires, according to the United Nations. That change is only expected to accelerate.
Globally, the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2005, according to the EPA. More than 5 million deaths each year have been linked to extremely hot or cold temperatures, according to a three-stage modelling study published in the Lancet.
For winemakers, the burden of climate change means contending with more severe weather, including hail, early and late-season frosts, new pests and disease infestations, droughts, floods, wildfires. It sounds and feels biblical: harvests are plummeting or unusable in pockets across the world depending on that vintage's local weather, and the regions suitable for winegrowing could shrink by up to 77 percent, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Meanwhile, winemakers who have been doing at first glance what appears vaguely eccentric at best, and misguided and extreme at worst – but upon closer examination brilliant and strategic – things in their vineyard, appear to be much better prepared for the changes ahead.
High-altitude, steep slopes, ancient vines
Difficult farming has long been considered heroic by many.
An international organization, the Centro di Ricerche, Studio e Valorizzazione per a Viticultura Montagna (CERVIM) was established in 1987 with the goal or promoting vineyards that are, well, hella tough to farm. They're more than 1600 feet above sea level, with slopes of greater than 30 percent, small and not always contiguous, climactic conditions are not optimal, there are differentiated types of grapes grown in atypical ways. In other words, pricey, impractical and of dubious commercial value.
The romance of doing the unexpected, beating the odds and being that quirky little pixie who proves all the naysayers wrong has a universal, understandable – if again, pricey, impractical and of dubious commercial value – appeal.
But these wee mountaintop vineyards brimming with unheralded grapes may also simply produce hardier, better wines.
One recent study published in Frontiers Plant Science showed how much grapevine quality can be influenced by altitude. The negative effects of climate change on grape physiology can be alleviated by relying in higher vineyards in warmer climates – like Argentina, Italy and Portugal, according to this study. By planting or relying on existing ancient vineyards at higher altitudes, the vegetative growth and berry size of grapes are reduced, the accumulation of phenolic compounds and antioxidant enzymes increases, and the grapes have higher levels of acidity which negate the effects of premature ripening. Simply put, the color is better, they're tastier immediately and more ageable.
Age matters too: a recent study conducted by genetics researcher Pablo Carbonell shows vines aged 35 years and older appear to deal with extreme weather and climate change because they’re more genetically diverse. These wise biddies tend to have a longer ripening cycle, which allows them to mature steadily and continue to produce the color, flavor and aromas we want and expect, instead of the flabbier texture and flatter flavors that can accompany bad vintages.
Sonia Spadaro Mulone, owner of Santa Maria La Nave on Mount Etna in Sicily lives the benefits and challenges every day.
"One of our vineyards on the southeast side of Mount Etna is on the steep slopes of a young crater called Monte Illice," Mulone says. "I face huge complexities here, with the 800-meter [2624-feet] altitude, I sometimes have a hard time obtaining the right balance of sugar and acidity, and we need to push the harvest to the second half of October. Certain parts of the vineyard are at a slope of 40 percent, and the soft black volcanic sands make that steepness even more difficult. The absence of clay in the soils doesn't allow for water retention," and because the vineyards are dry farmed, this can be dangerous for the grapes in hot years.
But those tough conditions, Mulone contends, "protect the vines from several diseases, and phylloxera cannot attack the roots of the vines because of the lack of clay".
Nothing that happens in the vineyard can be mechanized, which she says also makes for "better, true artisanal wine".
Groundbreaking new tech proves wine provenance
The team at Trento, Italy's Cesarini Sforza, has started planting vineyards ever-higher, despite the challenges, in recognition of the changing climate. Production manager Andrea Buccella says that the last several years of "very hot summers together with limited rain" have negatively impacted the vines' physiology, setting off an earlier ripening process and grapes that are less able to produce sparkling wines with a "suitable vegetative-productive" balance.
"We have increasingly invested in vineyards up to 700 meters [2296 feet] above sea level in Val di Cembra," Buccella says. "The elevation helps us preserve acidity and freshness, and the diurnal range is more pronounced and allows us to develop and keep our distinct aromatic footprint."
Paul Hobbs, who has seven brands under his umbrella including two wineries in Sebastopol, Hillick & Hobbs in the Finger Lakes, and brands in Mendoza, Cahors and Armenia, and has consulted with hundreds of wineries over the decades, jumped at the chance to work with Antonio López Ferndández on a wildly impractical high-altitude, old vine project in Ribeira Sacra, in the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia, intuiting that the results would be worth the elbow grease.
Founded in 2015, Alvaredos-Hobbs crafts wines made from indigenous grapes, including Godello and Mencia, at 985-1650 feet in altitude, from vines that are up to 90 years old.
"This area reminds me of the Mosel, which I have strong emotional connections to, but in terms of the ruggedness and steepness this region is arguably even more extreme," Hobbs says. "The vineyard plots are tiny. Antonio and his family have been farming the area for years, but in every generation, the vineyards are subdivided, until they are no longer profitable. Many are too small and too steep to farm with machines or even animals, and some are the size of a room."
In other words, no one is buying up postage stamp plots in Ribeira Sacra to make big bucks and live the easy life. The harvest is minute – some eke out just 1.5 tons – the labor is long and intense, the challenges are boundless.
"We do it because the quality of the fruit is incredible," Hobbs says. "We have been especially pleased by what we've seen with the Godello. Most people are used to Godello grown on the valley floor, but this is completely different. The age of the vines, the steepness of the slope, the soil work together to create the crème de la crème of Godello."
Plus, Hobbs believes that the older vines have a "been there, done that" approach to extreme weather that youngsters can't begin to emulate.
"They are hardened survivors. Climate change is accelerating but, in 80 years, they've still seen a lot and are better able to handle it."
Radical experimentation
Some producers are responding to climate change by transforming their approaches to conventional farming.
At Babcock Winery & Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, winemaker and owner Bryan Babcock has carved out a one-acre block for radical experimentation.
"I integrate nature into farming," Babcock says. "Why not have the forces of nature work with instead of against you? You have to take into account what direction the wind comes from, and how that will impact the sun's access to the fruiting zone. You have to use gravity for your own purposes, instead of fighting it. The VSP [Vertical Shoot Position] system is a dinosaur at this point, because it exposes the fruit to too much sun and maximizes labor and fuel consumption."
Babcock's system entails a raised platform that allows vines to grow naturally; there are no wires, and instead, the fruit and canes float in space. He estimates that his system would save up to 30 percent in farming costs per acre per year, reduces incidence of bunch rot considerably and reduces risks of heat damage because of the plentiful canopy and breeze access. It costs, he says, about the same as the VSP system to install.
While he admits that most people "take one look and run", he has found a mentee in the team at Coastal Vineyard Care. They have also installed Babcock's system in a few experimental plots and is pleased by the results.
"But I'd be the first to admit, this is a steep learning curve, and we're just at the beginning," Babcock says.
At Tira Nanza Wines, co-founder and winemaker Greg Hill is farming 30 acres of vines at 1800 feet elevation in California's Cachagua Valley.
"I want to farm organically and biodynamically, and dry-farm. I have personally found that those practices, while sometimes more challenging and labor intensive, ultimately create healthier fruit that can withstand the extremes better," Hill says, explaining that his degree in environmental science led him to seek out grapes that could tolerate heat and water stress. "Where we are, Cabernet Sauvignon dominates, and while I love Cabernet and actually have some planted myself, my background prompted me to plant varieties that haven’t been planted here."
Hill believes that Rhône varieties will be in a better position to handle drought and hotter temperatures in the future.
"I really love what I’m seeing here with our Viognier and Syrah," he says.
Biodiversity
You've heard about the banana, right? That dear breakfast staple, available at any corner mart in any city in the universe – 10 billion are imported into the US alone every year – is in danger of being wiped out by a fungus that has decimated farms in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. Much of the issue is being blamed on the fact that, despite the thousand-plus varieties of banana in the world, we really only grow one. The Cavendish is indisputably tasty, but simply relying on one variety makes it, and us, vulnerable to disease outbreaks.
Climate change, of course, has increased the number of disease outbreaks and pests farmers have faced in recent years. (Just consider bird flu, lumpy skin disease, African swine fever, rice blight, white flies).
The dilemma facing the banana industry, and the increasing likelihood that it will affect other crops, has many in agriculture rethinking their monocultural approach to farming. For winemakers, that means focusing on grape varieties that aren't planted prolifically. Because despite the fact that there are more than 10,000 varieties of wine grapes available, just 13 grapes occupy one-third of the world's vineyard acreage, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine.
"We are committed to sustainability on all of our estates," says Antonio Rallo, owner and CEO of Donnafugata in Sicily, with 1139 acres of grapes under vine across the island. "We never use herbicides or chemical fertilizers, and we are focused on promoting wine biodiversity."
In 2010, the winery planted an experimental vineyard with 33 biotypes of Zibibbo, an aromatic variety native to Northern Africa, and capable of producing dry and sweet wines with great balance. The team at Donnafugata believes the grape has evolved over centuries to withstand heat and drought, and the experiment is designed to establish what pest, disease and extreme-weather challenges each biotype is capable of handling.
At Santa Maria in Sicily, Mulone says that cultivating lesser-known indigenous grapes is par for the course.
"Biodiversity is a real gift and we as a human species are not nurturing and protecting it as we should," Mulone says. "On Mount Etna most producers focus on Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio for the reds, Carricante and Cataratto for the whites. On my Monte Ilice vineyards, I have 21 grape varieties identified, and 15 which we still have to identify. Some are almost extinct, and are called reliquia grapes."
She also preserves the local biodiversity around the vineyard.
"Monocultures are fundamentally wrong and unfair to the ecosystem," Mulone says. "To produce a monoculture you have to push fertilizers and chemicals to protect the vines from disease. My vineyards are oasis of biodiversity, with hundreds of species of wild plants, trees and fruit trees, many of them very rare. They create healthier grapes and even influence the flavors of the wines, but I really keep them to pay respect and protect this DNA for future generations."
Looking to the past to preserve the future
In addition to growing ancient grape varieties with strong heat, drought and disease tolerance, many farmers are ditching modern, industrial methods of grape cultivation for largely abandoned ones that evolved over centuries in little pockets of the planet.
"The farmers of Pantelleria use dry lava stone walls in their vineyards," Rallo says. "We cultivate very low bush vines, known as albarello pantesco, on small terraces that are bordered by those walls. They prevent soil erosion, protect biodiversity, protect plants from strong winds and retain moisture in the soil. Farming these vineyards are very labor intensive, and a know-how passed down through generations of the island’s farmers."
They have recovered and now maintain more than 25 miles of dry-lava stone walls across their vineyards, Rallo says. The alberello pantesco training system, meanwhile, allows the plant to grow almost horizontally, which protects it from the wind.
These practices are now recognized by Unesco as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage.
Others, like Christophe Baron, are trading in tractors and machines for animal power.
"It's an Old World family tradition at the core of my winemaking philosophy," Baron says of his decision to use draft horses to work 18.2 acres of vines at Horsepower Vineyards in Walla Walla, where he grows Syrah and Grenache. "When I was a kid [growing up in the Marne Valley], I remember a lady used to ride a big white Percheron draft horse, and it made a huge impression. When I created this vineyard I wanted a working farm with animals. We also have vegetable gardens and orchards, and we planted the vineyard with more space for horses."
Horses, as opposed to tractors, Barons says, benefit the health of the grapes in many ways.
"They don’t cause soil compaction like heavy machinery does," he explains. "Compaction can lead to poor root growth and soil degradation. They also don't damage vines when they run into them."
Improving vine longevity and soil health creates "more complex and interesting wines", he says. And the only output from horses, as opposed to pollution-spewing tractors, is manure, which provides essential nutrients to the soil.
The culture of easy industrial-style machine farming seemed to make sense, for many many decades. Transitioning overnight is impossible. But ignoring the benefits of these approaches seems equally impractical.
"I think in farming in general there are no shortcuts," Mulone says. "It is impossible to rush, speed things up, or make things easier without an impact on the ecosystem or on the final consumer."
