Cerberus, as this latest heatwave has been hellishly dubbed, has seen temperatures soar across Southern Europe, with tourists and locals alike suffering under the sun. In Rome, afternoon temperatures have remained around 40°C, a similarly sweltering picture to other cities across the country – with red alerts issued by the authorities to highlight the danger posed by these conditions.
Things are also heating up in wine country. The Times‘ recent apocalyptic headline Climate change threatens to burst Prosecco’s bubble may seem like alarmist hysteria, but extreme heat is a very real concern for those whose businesses rely on growing grapes – Cerberus’ bite could be even worse than its bark as water shortages and sunburnt grapes threaten future harvests. Pergolas, a traditional Italian vine training method which shades the fruit beneath a canopy of leaves, and early harvesting might not be enough to avert disaster.
Ivan Cappello is a winemaking consultant for Uva Sapiens and works with a number of estates across Italy, including Musita in Sicily, Prosecco powerhouse Bisol 1542, and Emilia Romagna’s La Mancina. Every working day he has to tackle the consequences of climate change in the vineyard, and on the wines produced.
In 2022, Northern Italy in particular was blighted by drought, and earlier this year it had the opposite problem when torrential rainfall caused mass flooding, especially around the Sangiovese vineyards of Romagna.
Speaking to the drinks business, Cappello reflected on how these recent climatic extremes have perhaps been a blessing in disguise: “Last summer there was a major heatwave in all Italy especially in the northern area, where the plants suffered more. The following winter was very rainy, but fortunately we had a good accumulation of water reserves that will allow us to deal with the heatwave of this summer.”
Despite the evening out of extremes, a prolonged period of rain followed by drought is unlikely to calm viticulturists’ nerves ahead of this year’s harvest. Given the increasing frequency of these conditions, those same viticulturists are also keeping a weather eye on harvests in years to come.
When asked what the long-term solution for winegrowers is, Cappello said: “The subject is very complex, climate change is fast, unfortunately much faster than the agricultural traditions of the many production areas.
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