Global warming 'threat to wine industry'

AUSTRALIAN wine regions won’t be able to grow the grapes they’re famous for because of global warming, wine lawyers said today.

Lawyers from Adelaide-based Finlaysons rate climate change as the biggest long-term challenge facing Australia’s wine industry.

Wine quality could suffer from reduced harvest times, more extreme weather and reduced water supplies, Finlaysons partner Will Taylor said.

“Climate change is probably the biggest long-term issue facing the wine industry throughout the world and individual Australian winemakers and grapegrowers need to be planning for it now,” Mr Taylor said.

“We’re likely to see changes in vine phenology and wine styles, including potential reductions in quality, shorter optimum harvest times, reduced water supply in most areas, different disease and pest pressures, and changes in the varieties of grapes that can be grown successfully in particular areas across Australia.”

Mr Taylor said the character of Australia’s wine regions will change.

“That represents a fundamental challenge for the Australian wine industry, given our wine regions are known and loved around the world because of their existing characteristics.

“The bottom line is that regions like Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Hunter Valley and Yarra Valley won’t be able to grow the grapes they’re famous for.”

Finlaysons has established a separate area in its practice to focus on emerging climate change issues.

The new area will be headed by consultant Katherine Wells, who said it was hard to predict how climate change will impact on particular regions because science was still being refined.

“We don’t know yet how dramatic climate change will be or what its specific impacts will be at regional level, but we do know that it’s happening now, it’s gathering pace and significant change is likely,” she said.

“We know enough to start managing our risks.

“For example, how will the viticultural sector adapt to climate change, will it need to change its viticultural methods, will it look at water efficiencies and new sources of water?”

Mr Taylor said not all changes from global warming would be bad for the wine industry.

“Some regions are likely to benefit from warmer temperatures, at least initially, but the character of many of our wine regions is going to change,” he said.

Source; news.com.au