Fellow countrymen, it's going to be the New Year soon,
What kind of wine do you like to drink most during the Chinese New Year?
Presumably, there are not a few friends who choose wine.
About this mellow wine,
Xiaobian has a good news and a bad news,
Which would you like to hear first?
Let's start with the "bad" news!
In addition to making glaciers melt at an increasingly rapid rate and causing ongoing droughts in many parts of the world, global warming has also had an "unprecedented" impact on the wine industry.
When it comes to wine, people often think of France first, and almost all of the world's top wines are produced here. France, on the other hand, is experiencing higher and higher temperatures and increasingly extreme weather extremes, which are hurting the local wine industry and the livelihoods of grape growers. The impact of climate change will be particularly pronounced in 2021, with almost all grape growing regions producing dry white, fruity red wines and sparkling champagne affected. This is the lowest grape harvest recorded in France since 1957, and wine sales will lose more than $2 billion, which will undoubtedly be a huge blow to the country's second-largest export industry.
Lost 90% of the harvest! You can't produce a single bottle of champagne!
A family business that has been in the wine business since 1700, it owns 20 acres of vineyards. They survived the French Revolution and two world wars, and unexpectedly, in 2021, they suffered the worst year in history , losing 90% of the harvest. In a normal vintage, they can produce 40,000 or 50,000 bottles of Champagne a year, while in 2021 they will produce 0 Champagne, which is the first time in the history of the winery!
Rising temperatures and a succession of extreme weather events are responsible for all this. Warming has accelerated the ripening of grapes and brought the harvest time earlier. For example, in 2020, in Burgundy, the harvest date is August 20. In the previous 30 years, the average picking date was around September 15. Looking back 600 years, the average picking time was between the end of September and October 1. Presumably, seeing this, you can clearly feel the impact of climate change on grape growth and harvesting, right?
Wildfires caused by persistent drought
Urban waterlogging caused by continuous rainfall in France
June and July 2021 were the worst, with rain every two or three days, a succession of hot weather, and severe mold contamination in the area. When the grapes are contaminated, the fruit will gradually dry out, and without juice, it is naturally impossible to make wine. Champagne regions are not "alone", and almost every wine region in France – from Burgundy to Bordeaux – has been affected. You know, these appellations produce the highest quality, the most famous and the most delicious red and white wines every year.
Grapes that gradually drier
Extreme weather "weird"!
France will cut production by an average of 30% in 2021
Luden is the head of a family-owned wine business, he runs several wineries and wineries in Bordeaux and is one of the largest wine producers in the Bordeaux region. In winter, lower temperatures kill mold that infect vines and reduce the occurrence of vine diseases. Luden said, "We have almost no winter here now." "As a result of rising temperatures, the disease situation of vines across France is worsening.
In addition to this, spring frosts are also a headache for local grape growers. The spring frost in April 2021 was very severe, the first time a frost had occurred across France. So much so that the viticulturers had to kneel between the vines and light bundles of hay and candles to warm the young shoots. Although this measure was almost in vain, they could not bear to give up.
All of this has adversely affected the production of grapes, with France reducing production by 30% in 2021 on average. So how much did Ludon lose? Up to 40%. Wine sales across the Bordeaux appellation lost $800 million.
See these staggering numbers above, right? "Climate change" is such a fierce role, "no mercy" on it. However, it also has a "gentle" side, for in the future you will drink more and more excellent wines from the region. The wine also rolled up involuntarily?
Here's the good news!
Good news one: Hold on!
Scientists have a trick to deal with climate change!
One way is to introduce new grape varieties.
Natalie is the project leader at the Bordeaux Institute of Grape and Wine Sciences. In their experimental vineyards, vines from warm climates such as Spain, Portugal, Greece and other countries are planted. So far, 52 different varieties are being studied to adapt to France's current climate, and scientists have selected 6 of them to be grown in the Bordeaux region.
Another method is to carry out genetic breeding.
Scientists are working to breed new varieties of grapes that are both disease-resistant and adaptable to climate change. Without compromising the unique qualities of French wines, scientists are studying the genes of grape color, aroma and taste. If a new variety is successfully developed, it can at least cope with the effects of climate change in the mid-21st century (about 30 years ago).
Good news two: the quality of wine will get better and better in the future!
Can't imagine? Global warming has a positive impact on the quality of wine! In recent years, summers have been warmer than in previous years, but the grapes have ripened better, the colours will be more beautiful, the sugar will accumulate higher, and the wine will naturally taste better.
The rising temperature is disastrous for grape growers in France and Italy, but for places where the temperature itself is lower, it is a positive, and it is really a few joys and a few sorrows. For example, the UK's climate in recent years has stopped being as cold as it once was, with more and more days exceeding 29 degrees Celsius, and now the UK can produce the world's finest wines, which was not possible 15 years ago.
To what extent did the grape harvest in England go? In 2018, the United Kingdom produced a large number of excellent wines, so that some local wineries had to buy barrels and vats to fill all the wine produced, and some vineyards even simply threw away all the excess grapes. In 2020, sales of UK wines were $220 million. Experts predict that in a decade' time, the UK's wine production could reach 20 million bottles per year.
Workers harvest grapes in a vineyard in England
When it comes to wine, we often think of romance, art, food, geography, chemistry, etc., and in the future, when talking about wine, will we also think of global climate change? Although the wine will be better in the future, and the quality of the wine will be more and more, but if you do not pay attention to global climate change, the yield of this grape is low, and you will have to drink and cherish it in the future.
Edit: Wen Jie
Source: CBSNEWS