How Australian winemakers are adapting to climate change

Climate change is affecting grape growers around the world, causing crop yields to decline, even in Australia, one of the world’s most important producers. There, creative solutions have been found.

Australia is the world’s fifth-largest wine exporter, but heat and drought are increasingly causing problems for the country’s 6,000 wine growers. Harvests are falling. Wine production in 2023 is expected to be down 26% from the previous year, more than any other country.

So Australian grape growers are taking a number of steps to protect their vines from the effects of climate change. They are shifting to planting southern European, heat-resistant varieties, such as Tempranillo or Fiano grapes, which originally came from Spain and Italy. And they are specifically breeding more climate-resistant grape varieties that can withstand the increasingly dry climate. A lot of money is being invested in research and a lot of testing is being done.

Paste made from water and clay

But there is another method that has been proven effective for years: applying “sunscreen.” The paste that protects grapes from the sun is made up mainly of water and white clay, also known as kaolin, and is simple yet effective. When sprayed on the fruit and leaves before the hot weather arrives, it leaves a white coating that protects the vines from burning.

“When children go out in the sun they put sunscreen on them and we spray our vines,” Bruce Tyrrell, managing director of a major winery in Australia’s Hunter Valley, told the BBC.

Another advantage of grape sunscreen is that it is biodegradable and leaves no harmful residue on the grapes. The next time it rains, the clay layer is washed away on its own. This is an important side effect for winemakers, who are especially concerned about sustainability in the climate crisis.

The cultivation area is being moved

Winegrowers are increasingly moving their vineyards to cooler, higher elevations, especially south or east slopes, which are less exposed to the sun. Or, if you look directly at southern Australia, which is colder on average all year round than other regions. The wine-growing area on Australia’s southernmost island of Tasmania has increased five-fold in the past 20 years. But the consequences of climate change are already being felt there. There’s a lot less rain.

Therefore, more targeted irrigation is becoming increasingly important. Sustainability is also a key word here. The water, which is already scarce, is professionally treated and used for various processes such as grape washing, soil irrigation, etc. Another natural measure is to use mulch to keep the soil moist for longer and save as much water as possible.

Natural UV protection from leaf canopy

Special netting is also used to create shade, and the tops of the trees are cut to ensure that the leaves provide maximum protection for the grapes. In addition, delayed pruning can also delay the harvest, an effect that winegrowers use to compensate for the accelerated ripening caused by heat.

Some winemakers also use artificial intelligence to analyze satellite and drone images of their vineyards and predict the best time to harvest based on the ripeness of the fruit and weather forecasts. They tend to harvest grapes earlier to avoid damage from heat or drought.