The Possible Vanishing of a Traditional New Year's Eve Pop Due to Weather Shifts
Prepare to bid adieu to the beloved New Year's Eve 'pop' as climate change threatens champagne production Wineries are innovating to adapt, while new flavors emerge as an opportunity 2023 may mark a different kind of celebration
With the new year just around the corner, you may be considering purchasing a bottle of champagne to welcome it in with a joyous "pop." However, new data indicates that the climate crisis could put a damper on the celebration. According to Silicon Valley startup ClimateAi, the three grapes used in nearly all champagne - chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier - are among the hundreds of varieties on the verge of extinction. This is due to the human-caused climate crisis, which is causing warming and altering weather patterns in some of the most famous wine-growing regions in the world, including Champagne in northern France.
ClimateAi predicts that by 2050, popular grape varieties used to make champagne and sparkling wine may no longer exist. Their researchers use global climate models, satellite data, and field data to forecast the future of these grapes. A 2020 study warned that if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the number of regions growing wine grapes will shrink by more than half. The UN Environment Programme emphasizes the need for deeper, sustained cuts to carbon pollution to prevent this threshold from being breached. If temperatures rise by 4 degrees, up to 85% of the lands currently used for grape production would no longer be viable.
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Will Kletter, the vice president of operations and strategy at ClimateAi, remarked, "When considering champagne, it's truly a one-of-a-kind drink. It thrives on warm, sunny days to develop its rich flavor and relies on cool nights to retain its desired acidity, creating the crisp and refreshing taste we all enjoy."
He further noted, "However, with the climate warming up, the excessively warm days and disappearing cool nights pose a threat to the ideal conditions for champagne production."
Global wine production hit a 60-year low in 2023, mainly due to extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) annual report published in November. Italy, once the leading wine producer, suffered from adverse weather events such as erratic rainfall causing downy mildew, floods, hailstorms, and drought. As a result, wine prices may increase, and the quality and availability of certain wines could be affected, posing a current issue, as stated by Kletter to CNN.
Chardonnay grapes for Champagne in Ludes, France, on September 8.
With the planet warming at a rapid pace, Kletter emphasized the need for wine growers to begin adapting and possibly considering new, cooler locations further north in order to sustain and expand the industry.
The Champagne region in France saw its smallest harvest since 1957 in 2021 due to extreme weather events, resulting in approximately $2 billion in lost sales, according to a Reuters report. However, the country experienced a better production year in 2023, particularly in the northern regions such as Champagne, as reported by the OIV. Despite challenges such as downy mildew, heat waves, and drought in some southern vineyards, overall production was decent.
How wineries are adapting
In 2020, amidst a historic, multi-year drought and land-scarring wildfires in the western US, Dave and Lois Cho made the bold decision to leave California and start a winery in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
Lois explained to CNN that climate change was definitely a factor in their decision to leave. After founding CHO Wines, the couple initially explored various wine-making regions in California, but encountered growers facing challenges with unpredictable rainfall patterns for irrigating their grapes.
Their determination to locate a site with high elevation was driven by the fact that a vineyard at a higher altitude would be cooler and receive more rain. This would prevent grapes from ripening too early in the heat, and allow for more flavor and acidity to develop.
On 07 September 2023, in Baden-Württemberg, Tettnang, a tractor is seen driving through a hop field owned by hop farmer Ludwig Locher. The purpose is to separate the hops so that they can fall into the trailer and be transported away. This image was captured with a drone by Felix Kästle/dpa (Photo by Felix Kästle/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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"Reaching an elevation of 1,000 feet, which is quite high for many valleys, was a major factor," Dave told CNN. "We are now, on average, five to ten degrees cooler than the valley floor, so we believed this would give us some extra time to fully adapt to the crisis."
The wine industry uses a measurement known as growing degree days to track the accumulation of heat during the growing season, which helps to determine the pace of grape development. The Chos note that the number of these "days" is increasing, causing grapes to ripen faster and leading to earlier harvest seasons.
With the West experiencing hotter and drier conditions, numerous wine producers in the US, such as the Chos, view Oregon's Willamette Valley as the future major wine region of the country, despite being a nine-hour drive north of California's renowned Napa Valley. "It's like a moving train. If you're trying to jump on a moving train, it's really difficult," explained Lois Cho. "But in Oregon, it's like we're laying down the tracks, because there's a lot of undeveloped land and untapped resources."
Opportunity for new flavor
Workers harvest grapes in a Champagne region in Châtillon-sur-Marne, France.
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The wine industry is currently facing the question of whether traditional wine growers are open to moving away from their usual regions and embracing new winemaking techniques. According to ClimateAis Kletter, big wine producers need to explore the possibility of emerging areas and opportunities for creating new vineyards and flavors. "This is essentially the playbook for adapting in the wine industry," Kletter, a former resident of France and a passionate lover of sparkling wine, commented. "I believe this presents an exciting opportunity for businesses and potentially for consumers to discover delicious wines that they may have never encountered before."
Regions like Bordeaux and Champagne in France face challenges due to their strict territorial restrictions. According to law, only wine from the Champagne region can be considered authentic "champagne," leading other countries, such as the US, to label similar drinks as "sparkling wine."
However, the Chos have found inspiration in Oregon, leading them to experiment with their wine. In 2022, they introduced a new flavor to their sparkling wine by co-fermenting their grapes with apples, which has quickly gained popularity among their 2022 wines, according to Lois Cho.
"You cant live in fear," Dave Cho said. "Theres an opportunity for us to be creative."
