magazine_ Article
European wines, protected designations of origin and climate resilience
A new study shows how climate change is altering wine-growing regions in Europe.
For the first time, a research team has put comprehensive data on grape varieties, growing areas and the climate of 1,085 European wine regions together and created a web application with all the information. The Winemap by Eurac Research shows which areas will suffer most from climate change and what options are available to make viticulture more climate-resilient. The results of the study have been published in the renowned Nature Communications journal.
Over centuries, winegrowers in Europe have perfected their knowledge of vines and their cultivation, producing distinct wines of high quality, each reflecting the climatic conditions in which they were grown. In many parts of Europe, this knowledge is protected by geographical indications, such as protected designations of origin (PDOs). These include Champagne from the Champagne wine-growing region and Chianti from the historic region of the same name in Tuscany. In fact, many of the world’s most famous wines are known for their origin and not their grape variety.
These European quality regulations protect the names of excellent products by linking them to their geographical origin and traditional production methods. Some of these products are also named after the place of production, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, which is produced in a precisely defined area around Parma and Reggio Emilia. In the case of viticulture, these regulations determine, in addition to the growing area, which grape varieties may be cultivated in the respective region and which techniques may be used. Further regulations also include the maximum harvest quantity permitted and how the wine must be produced. In this way, the consumers are guaranteed high quality and the wine products are protected from imitations.
Winemap by Eurac Research
As this system only prescribes “what” must be regulated but leaves the “how” to the individual countries, hundreds of different PDO areas with different sets of rules have emerged over the years. However, the documents with the legal requirements are structured differently depending on the country of origin and are often not available in different languages. Until now, there has therefore been no direct way of identifying or comparing the various PDO regions in Europe. An overview was provided in 2022 by a study conducted by Eurac Research, whereby an inventory of all PDO regions throughout Europe was compiled. The web application developed as part of this study shows the individual wine regions on a map of Europe and provides detailed information on a specific PDO region, such as the wines produced and the rules that apply to the production and use of the PDO label.
Scrolling through this Winemap reveals Europe’s diversity and wealth of its top wines: Riesling from the Moselle, Vermentino di Gallura, Tempranillo from the Spanish wine region of Rioja. You can find out which varieties are allowed to be grown in a region, which categories of wine are made from them - e.g. sparkling wines or liqueur wines - how many vines are planted per hectare, the maximum number of kilos that can be harvested, whether irrigation is permitted, and which municipalities belong to the PDO area.
Photo: Eurac ResearchFor a long time, these self-imposed rules provided a clear market advantage. However, the quality of the wine depends very much on the climatic conditions in which the vines grow. In addition to the soil conditions, the topographical location and the vinification (i.e. methods of wine production), the climate in combination with the appropriate grape varieties is the decisive factor for a good wine. When we talk about particularly exquisite vintages, we are referring to the special weather conditions that prevailed during the vegetation cycle of that year. But what happens when climate change shifts the climatic boundaries of suitable cultivation areas? Or if tropical nights suddenly become more frequent in an area characterized by large differences between day and night temperatures? Or dry periods become longer? Or if there is an ever-increasing rainfall at harvest time?
“Knowledge of varieties, growing environments and vinification techniques have produced great wines in Europe. However, climate change poses new challenges for this historic union.”
Simon Tscholl, biologist at the Institute for Alpine Environment of Eurac Research
Winemap Climate
The climate resilience of European wine regions is the subject of a new study led by the Institute for Alpine Environment, the results of which have been incorporated into Winemap Climate, a thematic extension of Winemap Europe.
Simon Tscholl, co-author of the study, summarizes: “Knowledge of varieties, growing environments and vinification techniques have produced great wines in Europe. However, climate change poses new challenges for this historic union.” Over generations, people have learned to get the best out of the grapes that grow in the climatic conditions of their region. The system of geographical indications, which has long been a marketing advantage for Europe’s wine regions, is now creating disadvantages for these areas due to their strict requirements. Climate change requires adaptability, which is made considerably more difficult by the strict regulatory system. Tscholl explains: “If the regulations only stipulate a few grape varieties for a designated area, winegrowers have little scope to adapt to rising temperatures.”
Which areas are particularly vulnerable compared to others depends on the interplay between climate, legal framework and available resources for adaptation.
Since not all PDO regions are equally vulnerable to these changes, the idea of combining climate data and scenarios with the legal framework of the wine regions was born in 2022. For the new study, future climate models were superimposed on a total of 1,085 wine regions. The vulnerability of these regions was determined using three indicators and can be visualized on Winemap Climate.
In addition to the exposure to the changing climate, Tscholl speaks of the sensitivity of a region, which depends on the PDO restrictions and its adaptive capacity. The combination of these three parameters allows an assessment of the state and vulnerability to climate change of a wine-growing region. Climate models predict a temperature rise of between two and five degrees Celsius by 2100, compared to pre-industrial levels. “Viticulture as we know it today will have to change,” Tscholl is convinced. On the one hand, the ratio of varieties will shift, and on the other, the vine will spread as a permanent crop to higher altitudes and further towards northern Europe.
Photo: Eurac ResearchThe Winemap Climate simulations clearly show that which regions are particularly vulnerable compared to others, depends on the interplay between climate, legal framework and the resources available for adaptation. How well regions can adapt to climate change is not only determined by the legal framework of the PDO regulations, but also depends on the resources and infrastructure available to that region. “Social, natural, financial and personnel aspects also play a role,” explains Tscholl. The social resources relate, for example, to population development and age structure, while the debt rate and return on investment are taken into account for the financial resources. All this data was also collected for all 1,085 wine regions.
Climate change also jeopardizes other PDO products
It is not only in viticulture that protected designations of origin are threatened by climate change: the increasingly hot and dry climate in Sicily is threatening the production of some types of cheese such as Ragusano DOP, Vastedda della Valle del Belice and Pecorino. “We have decided to analyze the impact of climate change on PDO regions in terms of viticulture, as vines are very sensitive to climate change and there is a large body of existing data on the subject with detailed information from all over Europe,” explains Simon Tscholl.
“Although South Tyrol is one of the regions with the highest adaptive capacity, the effects of climate change will also be felt here.”
Simon Tscholl, biologist at the Eurac Research Institute for Alpine Environment
The authors of the study, which was recently published in the renowned Nature Communications journal, hope to use the new version of Winemap Climate to show which regions are particularly affected by the consequences of climate change and to make it clear what causes this vulnerability. This web application is aimed particularly at regional, national and European decision-makers. It is suitable for a large-scale comparison and should help to initiate targeted and long-term measures against the consequences of climate change – especially in areas where quality regulations and protected designations of origin stand in their own way.
Photo: Eurac ResearchSimon Tscholl: “In South Tyrol, viticulture is well positioned in regard to climate change, it is one of the regions with the highest adaptive capacity. On the one hand, this is due to the many varieties and on the other, the resources and natural conditions that the region has at its disposal. Nevertheless, the effects of climate change will also be felt here.” According to the study, allowing greater flexibility and innovation in the choice of varieties and cultivation techniques and providing resources that enable and facilitate adaptation strategies are the most important recommendations that the EU system of geographical indications should respond to climate change with.
technical documentationThe scientific paper
The full results of the study were published in the following article Climate resilience of European wine regions in the Nature Communications journal. The authors are Simon Tscholl, Sebastian Candiago, Thomas Marsoner, Helder Fraga, Carlo Giupponi and Lukas Egarter Vigl.
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