![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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Steve from Rockwood says:
“The real secret with Tempranillo is to find the Italian girls with the purple bottoms.”
I am a good global citizen, so clearly it is my duty to take on the arduous task of a full, comprehensive, survey of the bottoms of Italian girls in order to solve this problem. Since this will involve great personal inconvenience, I have to request a modest grant to fund the programme. $500,000 will be a good start. Where do I apply?
Spaniards even know they have always made the lousiest wines in Europe. To complete this study, they need non-Spanish tasters to decide.
Quite a few posters above echo my sentiments about the, er, scientific quality and sincerity of this research.
But Viejecita was the first comment I read that matched several of the burrs under my saddle.
I love growing many things, including grapes; add to that that I enjoy wine and have splurged on several books about different wine types and the factors of the terroir and weather on harvests.
Just how many greenhouses? How many control groups? How much CO2? How much ‘additional heat’?
Somehow this strikes me as treating plants cruelly to prove confirmation bias
Sugar content and ripeness drive harvest dates; many vineyards try to maximize the sugar content by only harvesting before damaging conditions, e.g. frost, rain, high winds, migrating flocks of birds…
Hot dry conditions, best during the ripening process made for smaller berries and more concentrated flavors. Too little rain over the entire season can cause minimal berries that look like tiny dry raisins. It also puts a damper on the entire plant as buds left for next year’s growth is dependent on how many pounds of old vine is pruned off, starting with two buds.
Too many buds left on the plant causes vine overgrowth which magnifies dry hot effects on the plant. It also weakens the plant’s ability to properly develop grape bunches.
Watering (raining) preceding or during harvest greatly dilutes flavors and can cause berries to split open spoiling portions of the harvest.
Grape vines like a little maturity to fully develop their grapes for wines. While terrific planting and growing conditions can mitigate immature vines that sure doesn’t sound like the researchers greenhouse school of grape horrors described above.
There’s more, but I’ve ranted enough for this week… Those poor innocent ‘Vitis vinifera cv. Tempranillo’ plants; serve mankind loyally over centuries only to be treated so.
This seems to me to be a little bit of a waste of research money.
Changing variables such as water, CO2 & soil texture can be meaningless if other issues, such as mesoclimate, microclimate and grape variety adaptability over time, are ignored.
An example.
I have a small vineyard situated in the Upper Great Southern Region of Western Australia where there are a few other small operations near the town of Narrogin. This year’s Shiraz was picked a full four weeks later (April 28) than 2013 and a similar time lag behind another local vineyard, Downderry. My grape ripeness was a little less at 13.8 deg beaume while Downderry picked at 14.5 deg beaume. Theoretically, I could have waited a further week or two.
Without any substantial differences in carbon dioxide, water or soil, it is difficult to point to issues other than terroir; that wonderful expression of “place”. Some discernible differences are elevation (40 metres difference from 320 m to 360 m) and vine orientation ( NS v’s EW). Other influences could be a change in trellis system, soil inoculation and general vine nutrition.
Unless these and other elements are considered and tested, limiting the research to just three variables is simply pointless. However, such research is unfortunately common to the field of climate “science”.
PS I highly recommend John Gladstone’s terrific work: “Wine, Terroir and Climate Change” ISBN 978 1 86254 924 (pbk.).
Here are some of the best comments so far (IMHO).
See also Macroclimate, Mesoclimate, Microclimate terms in viticulture.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/technical-wine-terms-m-n.lml
ATheoK says:
“…Just how many greenhouses? How many control groups? How much CO2? How much ‘additional heat’?…….”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/05/01/claim-climate-change-targeting-wine-grapes/#comment-1626877
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David Sivyer says:
“…mesoclimate, microclimate and grape variety adaptability over time, are ignored.”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/05/01/claim-climate-change-targeting-wine-grapes/#comment-1626806
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“viejecita says: May 1, 2014 at 4:22 am
….Some are good, some are average, some are excellent, some they just ignore. And with the same wine, the same grapes, the same methods of wine making, there are differences from year to year……”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/05/01/claim-climate-change-targeting-wine-grapes/#comment-1626042
Thanks for your assessment Jimbo; I humbly agree. Nothing is better than having respondents who have some “skin in the game” and can report first hand, from real world observations. Viejecita, excellent comment. Serious wine consumers follow vintage reports and act on them. Seasonal variation gives us that beautiful or not-so-pretty result between excellent and poor vintages. That, dear friends is life…in a bottle!
In WA, we have a dry summer and draw water for irrigation from dams or bores. I guess the same applies to some areas in California. So the water variable can be inconsequential.
All the best to you all!
Dave
“Is there nothing, nothing at all good about 0.6 C of warming?”
No we are all irredeemably doomed unless this means we don’t need to fund anymore research, then there might be hope…
CD (@CD153) says:
May 1, 2014 at 5:46 am
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.
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It was warm enough in the past but will it be warm enough in the future? As I said, it ‘ will be interesting to see how successful it becomes.’
Stephen Rasey says:
May 1, 2014 at 7:46 am
@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.
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I suspect UK and US tax laws may differ in this respect. The fields I mentioned are steep and south facing. They had previously only been used as rough pasture, so I think the farmer saw it as an opportunity to grow something with a more valuable harvest. Whether his investment will turn out to be worthwhile may depend on the IPCC projections being correct, so I hope he hasn’t bet the house on it.
Dr C says:
May 1, 2014 at 11:42 am
3) England has made wine for centuries. England has never made good wine.
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I am no wine expert but I would point out that in recent years, English wines have won many international awards, so someone obviously thinks that Englandhas made good wine. You are not perhaps confusing English wine with British wine, which is a very different beast indeed?
@Bloke down the pub 5/5 5:36 am
…. English wines have won many international awards, so someone obviously thinks that England has made good wine.
Returning to the subject of Texas Hill Country, I think many awards have gone to Texas wineries. However, for the vast majority of the wineries, they get their grapes from California. Whether the vines out front are for show, for tax purposes, or are growing to maturity after being wiped out by the blight a few years ago, I don’t know. But just because some bottles come out of a winery, at least in the case of Texas, doesn’t mean the grapes were grown there. So when you go to a winery, ask them where the grapes they use were grown.
That said, the Black Spanish grapes from Dry Comal Creek are authentic Texas. What I was told was that the Black Spanish was a variety that survived the blight.
Texas Wines: Behind the Cellar Door
Not all the Texas wine you buy is made from grapes grown in our state. In fact, most of it isn’t. By Katharine Shilcutt and Jeremy Parzen, Houston Press, Thursday, Jun 21 2012
…. Out here, Pierce’s Disease runs rampant and the erratic weather can either burn or freeze the grapes off the vines, depending on the year. ….
http://www.houstonpress.com/2012-06-14/restaurants/behind-the-cellar-door/
Stephen Rasey says:
May 5, 2014 at 3:17 pm
As I referred to in an earlier comment, in the UK you can get English wine and British wine (or at least could). English wine is made from English grapes and has been creating a good reputation for itself. British wine was made in the UK from imported wine concentrate, mostly from the EU, and wasn’t fit for anything but cleaning metalwork.