Climate change rewrites world wine list

(ChannelNewsAsia) - BORDEAUX: It's circa 2050 and shoppers are stopping off at Ikea to buy fine wine made in Sweden. A Nordic fantasy? Not according to climate experts who say the Earth's warming phase is already driving a wave of change through the world of wine. As new frontiers for grape growing open up, the viability of some traditional production areas is under threat from scorching temperatures and prolonged droughts.
And in between the two extremes, some long-established styles are being transformed. Some whites once renowned for being light and crisp are getting fatter and more floral while medium-bodied reds are morphing into heavyweight bruisers.

"Some people are alarmists, I prefer to be an optimist," says Fernando Zamora, oenology researcher and professor at Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain.

"I have no doubt that we will still have vineyards in traditional regions, but we have to think of new strategies. And we will also have new zones for vineyards. That's for sure.

"Already in Germany they are making fine red wine where it used to be very difficult. And in Denmark, now they've started making wine."

Climatologists working with the wine industry around the planet predict temperatures will rise by one to two degrees Celsius from now until 2050, a trend that is expected to be accompanied by an increase in the incidence of extreme weather events.

"Can any region continue to grow the exact same varieties and make the exact same style of wines? If what we know today is correct, that is highly unlikely," said Gregory Jones, oenology professor at Southern Oregon University.