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‘We will have to get used to new varieties’: How climate change will make wine sweeter and more alcoholic
Knowing your Bordeaux from your Beaujolais is sure to impress your guests at a dinner party.
But the art of wine tasting could become a lot more complicated due to climate change.
Experts believe it will become more difficult to distinguish subtle aromas as warmer temperatures make wines sweeter and more ‘jammy’ with less traditional floral or earthy flavours.
The heat will also likely yield a significantly higher alcohol content. Emma Sayer, a professor of ecology at Lancaster University, said: ‘Climate change may raise some people who like to pontificate about wine without knowing what they are talking about.
“They will have to taste the difference in wines made from grapes grown at different temperatures and learn about new varieties.
The art of wine tasting could become a lot more complicated due to climate change (stock image)
“Even the most expensive, exclusive wines may change, as dry wines from grapes suitable for cooler climates with the right acidity become rarer and more sought after.”
Those adept at tasting tend to swirl wine before swallowing – to pick up flavors and develop “mouthfeel.”
But this process can be affected by a reduction in plant compounds called tannins due to higher temperatures.
Climate change could also lead to more rainfall in some countries, which – in Britain’s case – would make increasingly fashionable wines tasteless, says Professor Sayer.
Producers are harvesting earlier, selectively selecting the healthiest grapes and adapting their fermentation techniques to account for climate change, she says during a tasting at the Edinburgh Science Festival on Tuesday.
Experts believe it will become more difficult to distinguish subtle aromas as warmer temperatures make the wine sweeter and more ‘jammy’ with less traditional floral or earthy flavors (stock image)
But we will have to get used to new wine varieties, such as those made from mould-resistant grapes, developed because traditional vines are more threatened by mildew.
Professor Sayer added: ‘We need more events like this climate change wine tasting. Not every tasting is going to be pleasant—for example, if we ask people to taste wine from smoke-tainted grapes affected by wildfires—but it’s a new way of understanding how climate change affects what we eat and drink.
“I’m concerned that some of people’s favorite wines, like pinot noir, may be a little harder to come by in the future.”