Is "extreme a subjective word? Perhaps.
For our purposes, for both the viticulture and the weather, we will adhere to Merriam-Webster Dictionary's definition: going to great or exaggerated lengths; exceeding the ordinary, usual or expected; situated at the farthest possible point from a center; most advanced or thoroughgoing.
The climate's increasingly extreme changes have been the subject of seemingly endlessly news coverage, simply because their effects have already started to be felt in almost every conceivable industry. The global temperature has already risen 1.1C above its pre-industrial level, displacing millions of people through flooding, droughts and wildfires, according to the United Nations. That change is only expected to accelerate.
Globally, the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2005, according to the EPA. More than 5 million deaths each year have been linked to extremely hot or cold temperatures, according to a three-stage modelling study published in the Lancet.
For winemakers, the burden of climate change means contending with more severe weather, including hail, early and late-season frosts, new pests and disease infestations, droughts, floods, wildfires. It sounds and feels biblical: harvests are plummeting or unusable in pockets across the world depending on that vintage's local weather, and the regions suitable for winegrowing could shrink by up to 77 percent, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Meanwhile, winemakers who have been doing at first glance what appears vaguely eccentric at best, and misguided and extreme at worst – but upon closer examination brilliant and strategic – things in their vineyard, appear to be much better prepared for the changes ahead.
High-altitude, steep slopes, ancient vines
Difficult farming has long been considered heroic by many.
An international organization, the Centro di Ricerche, Studio e Valorizzazione per a Viticultura Montagna (CERVIM) was established in 1987 with the goal or promoting vineyards that are, well, hella tough to farm. They're more than 1600 feet above sea level, with slopes of greater than 30 percent, small and not always contiguous, climactic conditions are not optimal, there are differentiated types of grapes grown in atypical ways. In other words, pricey, impractical and of dubious commercial value.
The romance of doing the unexpected, beating the odds and being that quirky little pixie who proves all the naysayers wrong has a universal, understandable – if again, pricey, impractical and of dubious commercial value – appeal.
But these wee mountaintop vineyards brimming with unheralded grapes may also simply produce hardier, better wines.
One recent study published in Frontiers Plant Science showed how much grapevine quality can be influenced by altitude. The negative effects of climate change on grape physiology can be alleviated by relying in higher vineyards in warmer climates – like Argentina, Italy and Portugal, according to this study. By planting or relying on existing ancient vineyards at higher altitudes, the vegetative growth and berry size of grapes are reduced, the accumulation of phenolic compounds and antioxidant enzymes increases, and the grapes have higher levels of acidity which negate the effects of premature ripening. Simply put, the color is better, they're tastier immediately and more ageable.
Age matters too: a recent study conducted by genetics researcher Pablo Carbonell shows vines aged 35 years and older appear to deal with extreme weather and climate change because they’re more genetically diverse. These wise biddies tend to have a longer ripening cycle, which allows them to mature steadily and continue to produce the color, flavor and aromas we want and expect, instead of the flabbier texture and flatter flavors that can accompany bad vintages.
Sonia Spadaro Mulone, owner of Santa Maria La Nave on Mount Etna in Sicily lives the benefits and challenges every day.
"One of our vineyards on the southeast side of Mount Etna is on the steep slopes of a young crater called Monte Illice," Mulone says. "I face huge complexities here, with the 800-meter [2624-feet] altitude, I sometimes have a hard time obtaining the right balance of sugar and acidity, and we need to push the harvest to the second half of October. Certain parts of the vineyard are at a slope of 40 percent, and the soft black volcanic sands make that steepness even more difficult. The absence of clay in the soils doesn't allow for water retention," and because the vineyards are dry farmed, this can be dangerous for the grapes in hot years.
But those tough conditions, Mulone contends, "protect the vines from several diseases, and phylloxera cannot attack the roots of the vines because of the lack of clay".
Nothing that happens in the vineyard can be mechanized, which she says also makes for "better, true artisanal wine".
The team at Trento, Italy's Cesarini Sforza, has started planting vineyards ever-higher, despite the challenges, in recognition of the changing climate. Production manager Andrea Buccella says that the last several years of "very hot summers together with limited rain" have negatively impacted the vines' physiology, setting off an earlier ripening process and grapes that are less able to produce sparkling wines with a "suitable vegetative-productive" balance.
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