Ali Lowrey talks about the future of winemaking in this highlight of Auckland University's Raising the Bar Home Series.

Ali Lowrey talks about the future of winemaking in this highlight of Auckland University's Raising the Bar Home Series.

Listen to the talk

(Webinar available soon on the RTBHE website)

Edited highlights from the discussion

As we move from the soil in the vineyard to the wine in the glass with a climate change lens, it's important to note that wine is not essential for human survival. But I think it's an important product of human ingenuity. I do acknowledge there are a lot more crucial industries where the effects of climate change would be a lot more detrimental to human existence than alcohol production.

However, it is still a massive industry. A lot of people's livelihoods would be affected if it no longer existed. Worldwide, premium wine production occurs within really narrow climate ranges. So region by region, climate change is really going to shift wine production, especially in terms of grape selection. So that means what we can grow and where we can grow it will be affected.

We're going to lose ability to grow grapes in places we've been growing them for a really long time. The hotter climate is changing the wine we know and love. So what will wines look like that are grown in warmer than normal temperatures? What will climate change taste like?

First, the grapes are going to be overripe. This makes wines that are less acidic. A crisp sauvignon blanc will no longer be as fresh. Wines will have more body and be sweeter. This is because the grapes on the vine will be exposed to hotter climate, so more sugar will accumulate within the grape. When you have grapes of a higher sugar, the yeast and fermentation will churn out more ethanol. So you usually get higher alcohol content.

Wines are commonly round the 12.5% alcohol mark, but we are going to see a lot more wines in the 14+% range. Flavours may be cooked as well. Some examples: with a red wine right are going to have more flavours of cooked fruit like stewed plums, baking spices, and prunes. So there'll be a lot less of those bright fresh red cherries and raspberry flavours that I personally really like in a full New Zealand Pinot Noir.

So the chemical make-up, aroma and palate balance is going to change in the wine. What else?

Under the COP 2 degrees warming scenario Spain is forecast to lose about 65% of its wine-growing area. By 2100 the United States could lose up to 81% of its wine-growing area. Then other countries like Italy, Greece and notably France, maybe become completely inhospitable to grape production by 2050…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details