Warming climate brings opportunities for cool-weather wineries
Warming climate brings opportunities for cool-weather wineries
At Winery Aufricht in southwest Germany, owner Johannes Aufricht has been working to expand and improve his family business.
“Some fresh paint,” he pointed out, walking through the cellar where the wine is made. “We’re awaiting some new machinery.”
The vineyard sits above Lake Constance, roughly 1,600 feet above sea level. It’s a gorgeous spot, with a panoramic view of the sparkling blue lake. It’s also cool and rainy. Thirty years ago, winegrowing was almost impossible in this location.
“Most of the years were too cold to get nice results in grape growing,” Aufricht said.
Climate change is threatening wineries around the world, with unstable weather, rising temperatures and drought affecting some of the most popular and well-known wines. But for vineyard owners who have been sticking it out in cooler, wetter climates for decades, the heat brings new business opportunities.
For Aufricht’s family, the warming climate has made it easier to ripen grapes, and even opened the door to new varietals. This year for the first time, Aufricht planted the later-ripening syrah.
“We can do sparkling wines from barely ripe grapes, up to heavier styles of red wines,” he said.
In the past, cool-climate growers like Aufricht struggled. Now, they’re at an advantage. But there are costs to the changing climate too. Hail and unpredictable weather are expensive to manage.
“Despite the fact that it has been getting warmer continuously, there’s still a lot of variability,” said Hans Schultz, president of Geisenheim University in Central Germany.
The university has over 100 years of records on weather, soil and vines. Schultz said those records show that despite the erratic weather, the overall warming trend is good for wine in cooler places.
“We can grow grape varieties now which we couldn’t grow 25, 30, 40 years ago,” he said.
Researchers have tried to predict the impact of climate change on the global wine economy, but it’s difficult to account for all the potential variables. One study suggested a rise of 3 degrees Celsius could translate to profit increases of 150% in western Germany. Other regions will lose money.
Either way, Schultz said growers will need to prepare for change.
“Grape growing, I always say, it’s not a coral reef,” he said. “We can adapt.”
Across the Atlantic, wine regions in the northern U.S. also stand to benefit from a warmer climate.
“There’s a lot of new opportunities that are becoming available because the season is seemingly being pushed longer now,” said Bree Stock, who owns Constant Crush Wine, a consulting company in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This cool region is known for its pinot noir, but Stock encourages her clients to try growing new varietals.
“Syrah, cabernet Franc, gamay noir all ripen three to six weeks later than pinot noir does,” she said.
Stock is seeing new growers from warmer regions like California and France now buying land in the Willamette Valley, where they’re counting on having a longer horizon.
“People who are coming in have young children who they’re hoping to pass the vineyard down to,” Stock said.
As iconic places like Burgundy begin to struggle, Stock said the Willamette Valley and other cool regions can fill the gap.
Oregon and Germany make up a relatively small portion of the global wine economy, but they’re both growing. For example, Stock said Oregon wine sales increased 59% from 2016 to 2021. And in 2021, German wine exports hit a 20-year high.
Johannes Aufricht said his winery on Lake Constance is part of that trend. He’s selling more and more wine throughout Europe and the U.S.
“I will see a huge opportunity to gain international reputation because of those changing climate conditions in other well-known wine growing areas,” he said. “The possibilities are endless.”
Aufricht knows his region will eventually face more extreme weather. But for now, he’s looking forward to a few decades of sunshine.
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