![Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto del Pais and several other synonyms) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain.[1] Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano ("early"),[1] a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes.](http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/tempranillocluster-1.jpg?quality=83)
Climate change is set to affect the quality of the wines of the Tempranillo grape variety, according to the conclusions of a piece of research conducted by the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development Neiker-Tecnalia, in collaboration with the University of Navarre and the Aula Dei (EEAD) Experimental Station of the National Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Scientists from these bodies have studied the behaviour of the vines in conditions of climate change; in other words, higher temperature, increased presence of CO2 and greater environmental aridity.
The result is a must with a lower anthocyanin content, which leads to wines with less colour and therefore lower quality. The results of the research, led by the agricultural engineer Urtzi Leibar, have been presented at the conference of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), held in Vienna (Austria).
The research has been conducted in a greenhouse environment with vines of the species ‘Vitis vinifera cv. Tempranillo’. The three factors studied were climate change, water stress of the plant and soil texture. To analyse the effect of climate change on the grapes, some vines were placed in conditions of a greater presence of CO2, higher temperature and lower relative humidity, while other vines were situated in current climate conditions.
In addition to the CO2 and temperature changes, climate change is expected to cause a reduction in rainfall, with this rainfall being distributed across more extreme events. That is why the researchers subjected the vines to two different treatments. One with properly hydrated plants (20-35% of water content in the soil) and the other treatment consisted of plants subjected to water stress, and which were irrigated with 40% less water. As regards the soil, three different textures were studied with clay contents of 9%, 18% and 36%.
Among the most significant results as regards production and qualitative parameters, climate change was found to bring forward the grape harvest by nine days. This reduced the anthocyanin concentration, which resulted in red wines with less colour. It also caused an increase in the pH of the must. The pH level is a factor of interest for wineries, since it has to be low if the wines are going to be preserved optimally.
The water shortfall, for its part, delayed ripening –the grape harvest was carried out ten days later– and the growth of the vine was reduced. This fact also meant an increase in the pH of the must and a reduction in polyphenol content. Polyphenols are found in grape skin and pips and give wines aroma, colour and taste. As regards soils, the sandiest ones –with the lowest clay content– produced musts with a higher anthocyanin level, which yields wines with more colour.
Information of interest for the wine growing sector
The final aim of the study by Neiker-Tecnalia, the University of Navarre and the EEAD-CSIC is to make available information that will assist the wine growing sector in mitigating possible damage by the anticipated climate conditions or, where appropriate, to take advantage of the opportunities that may present themselves.
The climate is the factor that exerts the greatest influence on the suitability of a region for vine growing and wine production, since it directly affects the development of the vineyard and grape quality. Climate change is therefore an aspect that the sector needs to take very much into consideration.
The vineyard surface area across Spain amounts to 954,000 hectares, which is 5.6% of the total cultivated surface. The wine growing sector is an hugely important activity in terms of the economic value it generates, the population it employs and the role it plays in environmental conservation.
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Note: Despite the claim, the grape has been planted throughout the globe in places with diverse climates such as Mexico, New Zealand, California, Oregon, Washington State, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Portugal, Uruguay, Turkey and Canada.
It grows best at relatively high altitudes, but it also can tolerate a much warmer climate according to: researcher Sid Perkins “Global Vineyard. Can technology take on a warming climate?”. Science News http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118376057.html (29 May 2004).
– Anthony
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Is there nothing, nothing at all good about 0.6 C of warming?
Otter (ClimateOtter on Twitter) says:
May 1, 2014 at 3:31 am
‘The research has been conducted in a greenhouse environment’
“Annnnd THAT’S where it FAILed for me.”
Me to! Does anyone actually prefer grocery store bought greenhouse/hothouse tomatoes over vine ripened, picked from grandmas garden, bursting with flavor and juice tomatoes? No, I didn’t think so….
Bloke down the pub says:
May 1, 2014 at 3:37 am
“Yesterday I walked past a newly planted vineyard near my home in the sw UK. It’s the first such attempt that I’m aware of in the immediate area, and will be interesting to see how successful it becomes.”
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As I understand it, growing grapes for wine in the UK is really nothing new. The Medieval Warm Period made the UK mild enough to grow grapes as far north as Scotland from what I’ve heard.
My brother grows five cultivars of grapes on grafted rootstock in north west Dorset. It’s his hobby & his initial yield once the vines were established 10 years ago was 600 bottles per annum. Five years ago, the weather turned against him & his yield plunged to 80 bottles last year. However, he is nothing if not resourceful & instead of lamenting his fate, he decided to blend all his stocks from the earlier harvests & started producing sparkling rose wine by the champagne method.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_method
This secondary fermentation in the bottle is time consuming, but he has been very successful in producing a very decent brut bubbly. He did something that warmists cannot conceive of; he adapted to the change in the weather & actually makes a better product now than when he was producing reds & whites. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
‘scuse I, but the sun is over the yardarm. It’s time to open another bottle.
My bogosity meter on this “study” pegged. Creating a fictitious environment with the pathetic excuse that it’s what “could” happen, and then examining the results of that fictitious environment isn’t science.
Furthermore, negative results from the “experiment” were not only expected, but were a requirement. We are watching nothing but a repeat of Lysenkoism on a massive, worldwide scale.
They need to run the same test on different varieties of grapes. During the drought of 1977 (a very DRY year in California’s history) the wine industry produced some highly valued wines. Rieslings that were normally $15 per bottle were being sold for upwards of $200 each. Because of throw DRIER CONDITIONS combined with the LATER HARVEST the Brix (natural sugar level) was much higher and produced a white wine that was still good over 20 years later. We opened our last bottle for our 15th wedding anniversary in 1999 and discovered that at 22 the wine was still superior
I’m going to have to pay attention to the Autocorrect feature on my tablet. “Throw” above was autocorrected from “the” for some reason
There are apparently a few vineyards in the Nevada desert with one growing Tempranillo.
http://tinyurl.com/nojhuop
I’d just like to point out that there are extensive vineries south of London at Lurgashall and Box hill which produce some fine white wines including a Methode Champagnoise that in tastings in a good year rivals the real stuff.
I believe the Romans managed to spread production further north into Norfolk and Suffolk.
It doesn’t look like I’m going to be around to see a good Scottish chardonnay but perhaps my some of you whippersnappers will…or not. http://www.winelandsofbritain.co.uk/book.htm
@twobob says:
May 1, 2014 at 5:13 am
If I said I am a real ale man that would perhaps explain my vineyard non visits. I tried tobacco sometime back and screwed up on the drying….molded off. Got close though. If this numb nut bunch in politics force any further I’ll refine all of that. As I did in Saudi Arabia for home brew of all types (beer/wine). I got very popular with some arabs of course. Siddiqui (Sid)…no thanks!
Clovis Marcus says:
May 1, 2014 at 6:15 am
“It doesn’t look like I’m going to be around to see a good Scottish chardonnay…”
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That’s all fine as long as production of their fine liquid bread is not hampered.
England’s vineyards are not just a thing of the past, but they apparently grew much further north according to Dr. Michael Mann. Figs and olives grew in southern Germany as well.
“The best British vineyard stays”
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2010/may/21/english-wines-vineyard-stays-uk
Forget the whales, save the grapes! More bunk.
“the “Great French Wine Blight”, ”
Phylloxera Aphids, America’s gift to the French.
This grape study could be no less credible if Lewandowsky had authored it.
It has everything: deception, distraction, a pre-determined outcome, contrived evidence, cherry picking- in other words, a typical product of the climate hype industry.
Care some Indian or Egyptian wine with your lobster? The Indians have been at it since 4th millennium BC apparently.
@Jaako, It is so dang hard to tell my wife to pick up a
1.5l of Koivakangas Jäkäläkäpälät
vs a Napa Red!
We have an entire successful wine region in Colorado, on the West Slope, and they grow pretty much everywhere else too, except the mountains.
If I were a grower, it would be useful to know which temps and conditions led to the best grapes. But since vineyards keep that data themselves, I’m guessing they already knew what this study concluded.
On the one hand the expect droughts and flooding from AGW should cancel each other out and the deposits of drowned polar bear carcasses along the Spanish coasts should be good for the soil. The year round weekly Cat 6 hurricanes should not affect SW Europe very often and will also help keep down the malarial mosquitoes. So in all, I’m pretty bullish on the Spanish wine market.
@Bloke down the pub at 3:37 am
Yesterday I walked past a newly planted vineyard near my home in the sw UK. It’s the first such attempt that I’m aware of in the immediate area, and will be interesting to see how successful it becomes
Is that because of CO2 climate change…. or taxation climate change?
All I have is a hunch and anecdotal evidence, but I think a lot of recent vineyards exist primarily to convert land into a lower taxation category. You can lose money on the grapes but come out ahead on the property taxes. US 290 East of Fredericksburg, TX to Austin shows a distribution of wineries that seem to be more spatially dependent on the highway than the geology … As I said, it is just a hunch that taxes play a part in the recipe.
Central Washington State has a wine industry with an active research station (WSU) near Prosser and cooperating growers that know how to grow grapes in hot, and dry, and cold locations. As there is almost no natural precipitation growers adapt with irrigation** and some with misting when extreme temperatures start to impair vine performance. With often no snow to insulate vines in cold winters water is withheld to cause the vines to harden-off (“deficit irrigation”). As with other living things, cold is a bigger problem than higher temperatures.
http://wine.wsu.edu/research-extension/vineyard-establishment/
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** not allowed in some countries
Synopsis:
Global Warming is destroying our grapes.
All you rich people must give us money to help save your wine.
Not sure if you can get much more extreme of a climate for this example than Kansas. Seasonal temperature variation on the Great Plains is extreme and so is precipitation. Despite all of this, eastern Kansas was one of the, if not the largest, grape growing regions in North America prior to prohibition. Since the 1980s the wine industry has been making a major comeback in Kansas and in 2010 4 out of 20 Jefferson Cup awards went to Kansas wineries. It’s too bad this study just showed all of this must be a figment of my imagination because grapes can’t handle hot climates with irregular rainfall.
Climate change is indeed destroying our beautiful world and its nature. We should all play our part protect our world and our future generation.
What rubbish! They increased the heat, lower the humidity and add co2…. They would get the same results just with a heat adjustment,leaving the rest. Co2 increase reduces water need so these have self canceling effects. Murky reasoning at best.