Climate’s Impact on Wineries and Vineyards - By: John Arthur Thomas

The Wine Innovation Cluster (WIC), a national resource for grape and wine research comprised of five major research and development organisations (AWRI, CSIRO, SARDI, The University of Adelaide, and Provisor Pty LTd), reports the significant contribution of the Australian wine industry to the export, tourism and employment figures of the country. Wine Australia, a statutory authority of the Australian Government, supports the country’s $4billion wine sector, the world’s fourth largest exporter of wine by volume, just behind Italy, France and Spain. Despite exporting to more than 100 countries, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has seen a continuous downward trend in wine production and exports for the past three years.

WIC says, “Grape production, wine quality and importantly flavour or “style” are very dependent upon climate. There is a major impact of climate on wine style and flavour and this distinguishes wine from other agriculture products.” In December 2011, Leanne Webb, postdoctoral research fellow of the Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research at CSIRO, published an article on climate change’s effect on wineries and vineyards.

How Climate Affects Wineries and Vineyards

Climate has a strong influence on the process of wine production; it determines the grape variety to be produced. Important decisions on viticulture are made in response to climate. When it comes to temperature or seasonal range, climate can be described as hot, warm, cool, marginal, continental, Mediterranean, etc. To help viticulturalists in vineyard management, they classify climate into three categories:

• Macro-climate – the climatic influence on a particular region (regional scale); the climate of the whole or sub region
• Meso-climate – the climatic influence on a particular site in a region (site scale); the climate of the locale or section of the vineyard
• Micro-climate – the climatic influence on the vine, around the leaves and frutis (vine scale); the climate surrounding the particular vine and its fruits

Aside from the above climate influence, other elements are also considered, such as:

• Sunshine – for colour and flavour development
• Rainfall, Humidity and Evaporation – for vine growth
• Wind – for vine drying and vine disease prevention

Due to the current unpredictable weather patterns and irregular climate changes, cultivating grapes into wines has become a challenging industry. But by implementing adaptive measures, the threat and impact of climate change on the quality of wine grapes can be reduced.

Trelawney Wines come from the cool Clare Valley region

To ensure you get deliciously tasting wines, Trelawney Wines offer the premium taste of South Australia wines – genuine cool climate wines from the Clare Valley wine region. Wines from Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Riesling grapes grown on the family’s acres of land are still handcrafted from vineyard to bottle to this day, continuing the family’s winemaking tradition over the years.

Adopting modern facilities to produce the most organic and natural old-world wines, Trelawney Wines continue to keep the standards of their grapes and wines, reflective of the Clare Valley region. Their delicate handling of the grapes from cultivation to harvest to fermentation provides the delicious aroma and flavour their wines are known for.

About the Author

As one of the leading South Australian wineries and vineyards, Trelawney continues to reflect the vintage taste of Clare Valley wines in their handcrafted wines created from Shiraz Cabernet, and Riesling grapes.Order premium wines direct at Trelawney. For more info visit our website http://www.trelawneywines.com.au .

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