Roaming vineyards?

The changes in our globe’s climate are finally “hitting” our wine world. The main concern appears to be that old wine producing areas like Burgundy, Toscana, Napa, Rioja, Australia, Maipo, Mendoza among others would become vulnerable, no, even worse, potentially wiped out by drought heat, humidity, cold etc.
This all according to a recent publication in the




Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, furthermore the following quote of the publication on the subject of the wildlife surrounding the vineyards; “…this adaptation has also the potential to threaten the survival of wildlife…”.

Wildebeests, white rhinos around Stellenbosch, rare species of kangaroos in Australia or the presently well recovering condor colony over Mendoza and the last pumas around Maipo… be aware!
All this when I thought that the local wildlife could only arrive in a win-win situation, vineyards travelling elsewhere in the search of a better climate, as a consequence these animals original habitat returns, okay… maybe dryer, hotter, wetter etc. but always better than the hunting grounds they were banned form by pesticides, barbed wire, nets, tramps and so on, I know some geese in the South African vineyards and most Burgundy snails are in a more favored position due to their special qualities and are mostly left in peace but they are exceptions.

I got a bit unsettled to read that as much as 47% of land suitable for wine grapes will be lost in areas of Chile and also 59% of the wine country in western North America (so that must include California, Napa…) and 74% of this sort of land in Australia will no longer be compatible with viticulture, the equivalent figure for the Mediterranean areas of Europe would become unfriendly for vineyards by………2050,…..the year yours truly hopes to become a centenarian and at that time very likely be restricted to two glasses of red Bordeaux a day…..but then, of course, around 2034 we will have to be graced with a superb harvest of grapes nursed into excellent shape in perfect weather conditions and made in a fine Giscours or a near perfect Palmer, writing on this subject, in fact this should become a non-regulated wine futures Dec, 2050 contract, J.P. Morgan’s, CEO and Chairman (yes both!) Jamie DImon might call this a derivative and might wish to hedge the banks’ company wine cellar with this yet to be developed financial instrument.
I am wondering also about the fermentation, will we at the time still trust oak, maybe still forested in then even older medieval French oak forests possible Claude Giraud’s beloved Argonne forest……or at that time we might have swung completely into stainless steel tanks, steel from Brazil, maybe from iron ore mines around the Amazon rain forest……Mon Dieu!!!

Well at this makes it tough for any real long term futures trader to take a view on a future position of wine harvests of globally moving, wandering vineyards?? ….. far tougher than any other desired commodity like US Treasury bonds, Bit Coins, rare stamp collections, antique hang gliders etc.

The most in depth remark on this subject came from the lead author and scientist at the Conversational International; ….’things with feet and wings are going to move faster, plants are going to move slower’… and he added; … ‘it was very certain that human agriculture, and wine cultivation, would move faster than above mentioned, plants evolve….’.

That’s very true, centuries ago mature vines were loaded on slow moving sailing vessels across oceans doldrums to be replanted in faraway countries, Italians did so in Argentina and the Dutch sailed up the Gironde and took Bordeaux vines to South Africa, nothing new here I would say, although this was not done to out think climate changes it gives an impression how much time these sort of operations may take.

After having read this depressing very long term news I am confident the average wine lover’ taste will follow the moving vineyards all over our good old planet Earth. We will consider Alaskan Malbec 2064, Egyptian Sauvignon Côte de Nile 2053, maybe an Afghanistan poppy farmers will produce a Kandahar Cabernet 2071 with a sweet dark “opium” palate.

I would like to listen into the upcoming “AOC discussions” around the local ‘village auberge’ in these New World Wine areas when the specific regional terra problems will be discussed, I am certain with what we will know about viticulture around that time, these future wines will be better than only drinkable, affordable heralds of new great taste discoveries.
Finally I believe that wine drinkers will continue to have faith in the wine world’s capabilities to deal with scientific scarecrows cropping up in its vineyards from time to time.

The real advantage of our business is that it takes time to grow, harvest and make good wines, with plenty time to analyze scientific reports and to recognize when a report needs to be put in a Louis XIV filing cabinet with a complaisant grin.


M.J. San Martin