Will Australia's Top Wines Survive Climate Challenges?
Date: 06-Sep-07
Country: AUSTRALIA
Here are some facts about Australia's three most popular
wine varieties and changing temperatures' possible impacts on
them:*
* SHIRAZ (422,600 tonnes)
-- One of the first varieties to arrive in Australia in
1832, shiraz, the same grape as France's Rhone Valley syrah, is
known for its spicy, "wild" mulberry flavour.
-- Versatile shiraz is said to take on different
characteristics when grown in different regions -- being
peppery in cool Victoria, spicy and intense in Coonawarra and
Margaret River, powerful and minty in Clare Valley, muscular in
Barossa and leathery and rich in the Hunter Valley.
-- Shiraz grapes' versatility in producing this range of
wine styles from a broad climate range means that this variety
is not as sensitive to shifting temperature as other varieties,
such as Pinot Noir. CSIRO researchers believe they will be
better able to be adapt to a changing climate than some other
varietals.
* CHARDONNAY (397,400 tonnes)
-- Australia's most-planted grape in the 1970s, chardonnay
production peaked in the 1980s as critics and consumers tired
of what some called its "oaky" and unsubtle character.
-- Still the most versatile white wine grape, it flourishes
in cool regions such as Tasmania, Adelaide Hills and Mornington
Peninsula, as well as warmer inland regions the Murray Darling,
Riverland, and Riverina.
-- Early-ripening chardonnay grapes produce the best wine
when grown in a cooler climate, but as with shiraz grapes, they
can tolerate quite a wide range of temperatures. Production can
be maintained in most regions with higher projected
temperatures but quality will be impacted.
* CABERNET SAUVIGNON (274,400 tonnes)
-- A classic "Old World" wine, the full-bodied and
blackcurrant-inflected cabernet sauvignon has taken root in
Australia's medium to cool regions.
-- Rich and well-structured, it is grown in South
Australia's Coonawarra, Victoria's Yarra Valley, the Margaret
River, where it is often blended with merlot, McLaren Vale in
South Australia and Mudgee in New South Wales.
-- Late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon grapes prefer warmer
climates. An increase in temperature means they could see
harvest in regions such as Coonawarra, in south Australia come
15 to 23 days earlier in the year 2030, and 21 to 45 days
earlier by 2050, (depending on emission levels) University of
Melbourne and CSIRO joint research predicts.
* These three varieties of grapes accounted for 55 percent
of all production in the year ending June 2006, according to
the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Sources: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation (CSIRO, www.csiro.au), Australian Wine and Brandy
Corporation (www.wineaustralia.com), Australian Bureau of
Statistics, Vineyards Estimates, Australia, 2005-06,
(www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/PrimaryMainFeatures/1329.0.55.
002?OpenDocument)