The unexpected consequences of rising temperatures and climate change in the French vineyard

I have written a few blog posts about the adverse effects of climate change on wine Production. From Champagne to Bordeaux, not to forget Bourgogne. Several adverse effects can impair conventional and natural wine production, drought, late frost, and limited availability of indigenous yeast. Some research papers suggest that the wine will change, with lower acidity and higher alcohol level. Some of these papers suggest that in some wine regions of the world, making wine could be economically challenging. This will be the case in Mediterranean regions like Spain and Italy but also for part of France. In the lowland, where the vines are mainly planted, winegrowing could be impossible, only vineyards at altitudes, 300 m or more, should remain. At this altitude, cool nighttime temperatures in the wines offer a moderating influence of light temperature and help in skin maturation.

Will it be an apocalypse? Not at all, we talk about the actual regions, and what history teaches us that the human species can adapt to new conditions. But there will be some change.

But can climate change have some positive or less adverse effects on wine production in France? Let’s try to be positive and see how to anticipate climate change. Well, positive is not the right word, which regions can benefit from the situation.

The general rule is either the region has microclimates, is mountainous, uses new cultivars, or is located is. located further north.

In France the first region that comes to my mind is Brittany. Brittany is more famous for cider, seafood, and culinary heritage. But the soil, the Armorican massif, is the same as in the Muscadet region. Brittany had a small vineyard before the phylloxera crisis, but it disappeared after. In the latest part of the 20th century, winemaking reappeared in Brittany, mostly as a leisure viticulture, but since 2020 the vineyard has grown to 18 hectares and with 46 in project.

You can now buy wine from Brittany, made in the region of Saint-Malo, Les Longues Vignes, and exploit 4 hectares with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grolleau, Fruhburgunder, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, and Portugais bleu. The wine is made using indigenous yeast and low sulfite.

Another region that could take advantage of climate change is the Mosel Valley. The Mosel Valley is famous in Germany where Riesling is king. Less known, the 39 km that separates Luxembourg from Germany produces excellent wines. The longest part of the River in France produces wine too. The appellation is less known than the two first. The local appellation is named Moselle. It produces red wine, with Pinot Noir, Rose using Pinot Noir and Gamay, and white wine using Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc.

The region has several assets to deal with climate change. The Moselle River will help to regulate summer temperatures and the clay-limestone nature of the soil will help to regulate water. The region may have a good potential with rising temperatures and could still produce fresh and fruity red wines.

About Pinot Noir, the iconic variety from Bourgogne, climate change will redistribute the map of fine wines. With a cooler climate and higher mountains, the Alsace region will produce Pinot Noir with a lower level of alcohol than Bourgogne. Of course, the climate is not the only determinant of wine quality, winemaking will still make the difference but Alsace will produce lighter and relatively low-alcohol wine compared to Bourgogne.

Another wine region, that could benefit from climate change compared to its famous neighbors is the Muscadet and Nantes vineyards. This time this is not about a higher altitude but the proximity of the ocean and swamps that regulate the summer temperature. With its unique winemaking, aging on the dead yeast, “sur Lie”, it promises to make great wine that can be aged and that can stand the comparison with Chenin from the Loire Valley.

Finally, there is a region that is well known for competing with Burgundy in white wines, the Beaujolais. Beaujolais Blanc, which only accounts for 6% of the wine production in the region, is very delicate and already competes with Bourgogne Blanc. Beaujolais has an advantage over Bourgogne, altitude, on average the average altitude in Bourgogne is 220 meters, 200 in Chablis and 250 in Côte de Nuits. Altitude, in Beaujolais, oscillates between 300 and 600 meters. These higher altitudes will be more sustainable with climate change.

But in most cases, whatever Altitude or the presence of water cooling down the vineyard, with rising temperatures, the vines bud much earlier, making them vulnerable to late frost, not considering extreme climate events like storms and hail, which can destroy a vineyard.

But study papers don’t stop in France, they list many other regions in Europe, the UK, Belgium, Northern part of Germany… some of these places already produce wine on a smaller or larger scale. Virtually, a large part of Europe, the one occupied by the Roman Empire or exposed to Christianity during the Middle Ages, had produced wine. But if wine disappeared from these regions it was because it wasn’t sustainable economically. It was cheaper to import wine from Germany, France, Spain, or Italy than to produce locally. It is the same situation today, this is not because the climate is more favorable for vines growing, that this region will produce wine. For effective wine production, the climate is important, as the soil the people who produce the wine, and topography play a crucial role too. And finally, the cost of land too, imagine, the soil and topography in central London are ideal for wine production but one hectare costs 2 or 3 times more than in Champagne!

These studies focus on climate and climate, but they teach us something, we are on the verge of a big change in the wine industry, not only we will see new emerging regions, and the comeback of old forgotten ones, but we should also see a change in the taste of wine by 2050.

Ref La diversité des vignobles français face au changement climatique Climate change impacts and adaptations of wine production