On Climate Change and Its Impact on Winemaking

The wines that we enjoy are completely dependent on the whims of Mother Nature. 

Daily life in Asia is mostly spent indoors where we are oblivious to what is outside until the aircons don’t work, or a point in one’s day where we need to dash from one place to other.

For much of the wine world, the people who nurture our grapes from soil to vine are acutely aware of the weather.  Every drop of rain is precious to nourish the roots of the vines, as irrigation is mostly not permitted except when the vines are in their infancy. A few degrees of temperature, whether up or down can make or break a harvest. A late in the summer shower can make the grapes fall off the vines, or if they’re ripe, dilute the sugars that are under the skins. Too much heat/sun can dry out the grapes, concentrating the sugars and shrinking the skins, potentially causing them to split and expose the fruit to mould.

In places of the wine world where wines are made from one grape, such as Burgundy, wine makers are ever vigilant. Harvest dates, rainfall, weather conditions are noted from year to year and are used as a reference point.  In the past two decades, it has become more and more noticeable that harvest conditions are becoming earlier as grapes are ripening faster. What has happened and what was done in the past is almost moot as the reference points are no longer there to follow – one must make one’s own path. 

A winemaker/vigneron is not a farmer where one could try planting something else. Would it be viable for a winemaker to uproot vines and attempt another in its place? A vine is a bearer of the history of the land on which it is planted.  It takes many years – possibly decades before a vine can bear fruit that can be made into a wine that gives a sense of place when it is poured into one’s glass. Vines in their infancy will first bear fruit that may be made into wine when it is 3 years old – a wee sprout in the ground really at that point. Old vines are the ones that we seek in the glass as they show the most complexity.

The most momentous decision a winemaker has to make is when to start harvest. Many things need to be in place before this starts – the additional support teams required to pick the grapes, where to house and feed them, getting the press rooms/tanks/barrels ready and most importantly, exactly where or which vineyard to start at. 

Peeking out the window, sniffing the air, a flip of a coin, looking at what happened in previous years with similar conditions, a feeling in one’s gut aka intuition, all comes down to one essential make-or-break question, ‘Are you sure?’ 

At a recent comparative tasting of Burgundy between two established, well respected and much sought-after domaines (Jean Jacques Confuron & Dujac) where the 2020 vintage was tasted and compared from different villages – that very question was much in the air as it was the first time that these two domaines had been tasted together in Hong Kong. 

Both domaines surprisingly, started their harvests in 2020 within a day of each other. 

There is a difference of textures on the palate between a wine that is a ‘villages’ vs a single vineyard within the same AOC. One is simpler, with bolder fruit on first sip and the other has a certain note of what one could call, ‘this is going to get better’. 

Morey St Denis, an appellation which a decade or so ago, was referred to then as a quaffing Burgundy as its neighbours Gevrey Chambertin and Chambolle Musigny got all the attention –  now has come into its own with climate change as its location has now given it more cachet due to its excellent value and is now getting more sun, thus a better chance at ripening.  All were made by Domaine Dujac and each showed distinctness due to the old vines that were used.  Interestingly – Jeremy Seysses and his wife Diana Snowden Seysses (she is American), see the value in treasuring the vines that are present rather than attempting change just because of what climate change has wrought over the years with their philosophy that the vines will outlive and survive them.

Two ‘Romanees’ – Vosne Romanee and Romanee St Vivant, both by Jean Jacques Confuron (Louis Meunier is the winemaker) were very distinct from each other despite being separated by one plot.  The Vosne Romanee was a Les Beaux Monts Premier Cru – a beautifully balanced Pinot Noir that is true to its place.  It was slightly over-shadowed by the Romanee St Vivant Grand Cru, which showed a bit more finesse and harmony. 

The question ‘Are you sure’ will certainly be repeated many times in the future, and despite the uncertainty that climate change has brought upon the world of wine, a winemaker who is in tune with his vineyards and 6^th sense will prevail.