Wine trends until 2100 revealed by University of Tasmania
Wine trends for the region up until the year 2100 have been revealed by researchers studying climate predictions.
AUSTRALIAN winemakers will be able to better plan for the impacts of climate change thanks to a new resource.
The resource Australia’s wine future: A Climate Atlas has been developed by researchers at the University of Tasmania and funded by Wine Australia.
The Climate Atlas gives wine-grape growers and winemakers information about trends for Australian wine regions until 2100.
Climate Futures Group lead and UTAS climatology expert, Dr Rebecca Harris, said the aim was to provide detailed climate predictions in an accessible form to wine producers.
“The aim was to improve understanding of climate
information and to empower communities to plan for the coming season and the future,” Dr Harris said.
“The project identified weather risks that are particularly important to grape-growing within different wine regions and assessed future changes in their frequency and intensity based on regional climate models that incorporate large-scale climate drivers that drive drought and extreme heat.”
The atlas features indices for individual regions and grape varieties, with a focus on heat
accumulation, aridity, heatwaves and frost.
It provides insights for wine regions, including an indication of which areas are currently similar to the projected conditions in 2100, allowing growers and wineries to look to their peers and experts for ideas on how to adapt for their future.
Wine Australia general manager for research, development and extension Liz Waters said the online atlas was a resource to help the sector manage climate variability.
“Extreme weather events have always posed a challenge for grape growers around the world, and this new resource will help Australia’s growers to choose adaptive strategies
tailored for the changes in their region,” Dr Waters said.
“The very nature of viticulture means vineyards planted today could continue to produce fruit for future generations.”
The Climate Atlas resource will be available for download from Wine Australia and
Climate Futures Tasmania.
Senior winemaker Alain Rousseau at Frogmore Creek in the Coal River Valley said for now Tasmania was in a good place, but climate change could be seen in the long term.
“I think we’ve got a few years before we see a major change.
“You can see that it’s a little warmer, but I think the vines have been enjoying it for the past few years.
He said Tasmania was likely in a better position than some other places around the world.
“We are very lucky in
Tasmania, because we can grow all different kinds of grapes in all different areas. We are in a very good position.”
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