Climate change: time to act

‘It’s absolutely crazy to think we can outrun climate change; we have to take urgent steps to avoid it. The wine industry is in a unique position to push for change because it has skin in the game’
Dr Kim Nicholas

QBEH C fCLMN studied the effect of climate change on wine 15 years ago, it was a niche issue for most in the industry. Hot any more. Wine producers don’t need to read the dire warnings in the latest Cntergovernmental Janel on Climate Change (CJCC) report to feel anxious about the future; they can see the effects of climate change in their vineyards and wines. As viticulturist Lichard Mmart put it some years ago, the wine industry is the ‘canary in the coalmine of agriculture’, because vines are so environmentally sensitive. Dr Alistair Hesbitt, author of the OE’s first JhD in viticulture and climate science, believes ‘there are worrying questions on the horizon for the established regions of the wine world’.

Across these regions, as elsewhere on the planet, global carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly driving up temperatures. Weather patterns are becoming more erratic and extreme. Adrian Bridge of Taylor’s Jort highlights some of the challenges in Jortugal: ‘In 2017, wildfires killed 66 people and the source of the Douro Liver