By Marc Walker
Cambridge: Wine produced as far north as Scotland will threaten the future of traditional grape growing regions, experts have found.
A new global map created by scientists from France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy wine provinces predicts that wine production will be forced to shift from the traditional terroir of southern Europe to the northernmost reaches of Britain.
Workers pick grapes at a vineyard in Maidstone, UK.Credit: Bloomberg
Changes in global temperatures are set to make mid-latitude regions – such as southern France, northern Spain and Italy, and the New World vineyards of southern California and the Barossa in Australia – unsuitable for production.
Areas once considered too cool and wet for viticulture, such as the north of Britain, southern Scandinavia and America’s Pacific north-west, will be the winemaking “winners”, according to the study.
Increased heat waves and erratic rainfall could wipe out vineyards from Greece to California by 2100, researchers found.
The map, created by teams from Inrae, a public research institute for agriculture, food and the environment; Bordeaux Sciences Agro, the French National Centre for Scientific Research; and the universities of Bordeaux and Burgundy shows southern Britain as likely to enjoy “improved suitability”, while the north of the UK is designated as a “new wine region”.
At the same time Southern Europe is predicted to face a “high risk of unsuitability” for wine production as the mercury rises.
Researchers considered two scenarios: one where warming remains within 2 degrees of the pre-industrial average, the limit set by the 2015 Paris climate accord, and another where global temperatures rise by 2 degrees to 4 degrees.
Either way, French scientists predict British vines will benefit at the expense of their Mediterranean counterparts.
The report found about half of current wine regions might benefit or maintain their suitability for winemaking with a temperature increase of 2 degrees or below, but a rise beyond 2 degrees could make up to 70 per cent of traditional wine regions unsuitable.
Cornelis van Leeuwen, professor of viticulture at Bordeaux Sciences Agro and lead author of the report, said: “Climate change is changing the geography of wine – there will be winners and losers.
A worker walks between vines at the end of the day’s picking at a vineyard in Maidstone, UK.Credit: Bloomberg
“You can still make wine almost anywhere, even in tropical climates, but here we looked at quality wine at economically viable yields.”
The report, published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, warns that under “far more severe warming scenarios, most Mediterranean regions might become climatically unsuitable for wine production”.
There are 37 vineyards in northern England and three in Scotland, says Ian Sargent, Midlands and North regional director for trade body WineGB.
In 2015, Scotland’s first homegrown wine was infamously described as “undrinkable” after Christopher Trotter, from Aberdeen, set up his own vineyard in Fife three years earlier.
Plantations north of the border are concentrated in the Scottish Borders area, but Sargent revealed plans are afoot for a new vineyard near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.
Sargent, who with wife Ann planted vineyard Laurel Vines in the East Riding of Yorkshire in 2011, said: “The [French] report confirms our data and results; we are seeing an increase in the sunlight hours per year and increasing temperatures; this is resulting in larger, high-quality vintages.
“We have also seen an increase in the number of vineyards across the country, including the north, and there is more interest in finding suitable sites on which to plant vines in the region.”
He added: “The Midlands and North have some excellent vineyards and wineries producing first-class, award-winning wines.
“The 2023 yield was a record year and for a lot of vineyards this comes on the back of previous fantastic vintages.
Workers prepare to pick grapes at a vineyard in Maidstone, UK.Credit: Bloomberg
“Regarding Scottish vineyards, it’s fair to say that this is a younger market, but as with the north of England, there are sites being acquired and planted.”
British viticulture-climatologist and CEO of vineyard consultancy Vinescapes, Dr Alistair Nesbitt, said: “There is urgent need for adaptation in both warmer established regions and newer, cooler viticulture areas, such as the UK, to better cope with change and variability.”
A report by WineGB last year found the area of Britain covered by vineyards had soared by 74 per cent in just five years.
More than 940 vineyards cover 39 square kilometres of land – mainly in southern England – with that figure expected to almost double within 10 years to 76 square kilometres.
The Telegraph, London
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