Climate change study ‘exaggerated and full of mistakes’…This is what Michel Chapoutier said to Decanter.com in this exclusive interview. Actually, he is not alone to comment on this climate change and it seems many famous wine estates agree that we should speak about adaptation and not, as press reports did, claim the winemaking map will be entirely redrawn by 2050. Sébastien Vincenti at Domaine de Fondéche explained what he did to adapt to climate change in the south of France: “We had to think differently at several stages: how to get maturity earlier to keep freshness? What kind of grape variety should be planted? What should be the ideal soil? First, the Terroir. We replanted the vines on soils with sand and silt. We keep our vines very low, very close to the ground with a large foliar exposition and 2 meters high in order to have more shadow. Thus, the grapes are protected from the sun, they ripen slowly, they keep acidity and they can be picked with a potential 12% in alcohol.” (read more here) In his blog, Christian Seely (Quinta do Noval, Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron…) wrote about alcohol levels in Douro Valley and Bordeaux : “I am often asked to comment on the issue of alcohol levels in wine, and so I thought I would take the opportunity to put down some thoughts on this question. I can only really comment in the context of the vineyards that I look after, and it seems to me that the issue is relevant to two regions in particular: Bordeaux and the Douro Valley. To take first the subject in the context of Bordeaux, it is true that in properties like Château Pichon-Longueville Baron and Château Petit-Village, average natural alcohol levels are higher than they used to be. I would stress that higher acohol levels are never our aim, but rather the logical consequence of the way we work in the vineyards today, which has evolved considerably compared to how it was twenty or more years ago.” (read more here) And what about Sicily? Is climate change a problem for Vito Catania, owner of Gulfi? “Irrigation is unnecessary to make great wines in Sicily. No irrigation, albarello system and autochtoneous grapes are perfectly adapted to climate change.” (read more here in French) Please drink moderately. (Contact the writer at info@vitabella.fr)
Climate change: Should we believe the reports claiming the winemaking map will be entirely redrawn by 2050 ?
