Viticulture and Winemaking under Climate Change

Helder Fraga

doi:10.3390/agronomy9120783

Abstract

The importance of viticulture and the winemaking socio-economic sector is acknowledged worldwide. The most renowned winemaking regions show very specific environmental characteristics, where climate usually plays a central role. Considering the strong influence of weather and climatic factors on grapevine yields and berry quality attributes, climate change may indeed significantly impact this crop. Recent-past trends already point to a pronounced increase in the growing season mean temperatures, as well as changes in the precipitation regimes, which has been influencing wine typicity across some of the most renowned winemaking regions worldwide. Moreover, several climate scenarios give evidence of enhanced stress conditions for grapevine growth until the end of the century. Although grapevines have a high resilience, the clear evidence for significant climate change in the upcoming decades urges adaptation and mitigation measures to be taken by the sector stakeholders. To provide hints on the abovementioned issues, we have edited a special issue entitled: “Viticulture and Winemaking under Climate Change”. Contributions from different fields were considered, including crop and climate modeling, and potential adaptation measures against these threats. The current special issue allows the expansion of the scientific knowledge of these particular fields of research, also providing a path for future research.

Highlights

Viticulture and winemaking are largely recognized worldwide, having a strong socio-economic role for many countries
In 2018, wine production was 292 × 106 hl, which has remained relatively unchanged over the last decades [1]
Climatic factors determine the geographical location of vineyards [5], and the variability in the weather parameters, such as air temperatures, precipitation, and solar radiation, leads to annual changes in productivity [6,7]

Summary

Introduction

Viticulture and winemaking are largely recognized worldwide, having a strong socio-economic role for many countries. The world’s top wine producing countries are France, Italy, and Spain, while it is worth noticing that China recorded the largest increases in production over the latest years. Climate is an important forcing factor on grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) physiological development [2], vegetative growth [3], phenology [4], production, and on wine quality. Climatic factors determine the geographical location of vineyards [5], and the variability in the weather parameters, such as air temperatures, precipitation, and solar radiation, leads to annual changes in productivity [6,7]. During the 20th century, significant changes in temperatures were found, including increases from 2 to 5 ◦ C in Europe [9], which is home to world-renowned wine regions. (RCP), global temperature is expected to rise between 1 ◦ C (RCP2.6—least severe scenario) and 5 ◦ C (RCP8.5—most severe scenario), over the 21st century [10]

Climate Change Impacts on Viticulture

The Special Issue