This & That, Ceci et Cela

The Observer’s Tim Atkin reports that a speaker at the ‘Global Warming and Wine’ conference argued that grape growing will be “unviable in most of the traditional Catalonian wine regions [Spain] within the next 40 to 70 years” while another warned of the problems that Atlantic regions, such as Bordeaux [France] and Galicia [Spain], could face because of changes in the Gulf Stream and their effect on temperature and rainfall patterns.

He also says:

Water, already a scarce resource in much of the world, will be increasingly restricted in the future. This will make it all but impossible to grow grapes in some hot-climate areas. It could also make vineyards susceptible to new types of pests and diseases. In cooler areas, such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, temperatures may prove too warm for traditional, early-ripening grape varieties such as Pinot Noir and Merlot. Tempranillo could suffer a similar fate in Rioja. The wine map as we know it will be redrawn over the next century. … Some reds will lose colour, while whites will lose perfume and acidity. … If you like wines made from grapes that perform well in warmer climates, such as Graciano, Petit Verdot, Grenache, Touriga, Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carmenère, Shiraz, Pinotage, Vermentino, Viognier and Muscat, then you’re going to see an awful lot more of them in future.
We decode:

Bottomline, there’s still going to be enough vino for us all; the only people who might be pissing vino out of fear are the wine producers. Sounds like they are slowly awakening to the economic implications of the resultant income redistribution that would occur from the new production map. Those with vineyards concentrated in just one or two regions should probably start looking to diversify into other geographic areas. Winemakers like Bernard Magrez seem to already have this covered with 32 vineyards from North Africa, South America, the US, and Europe. in his portfolio