Climate change is compelling Spanish
winemakers to think about moving to higher ground in order to run away from the sweltering heat.Spain, which is covered with acres of vineyard, "is in the frontline of climate change," said Juan Francisco Cacho, a wine expert at the University of Zaragoza, to AFP.The country, the driest in Europe, might suffer with a possible "Africanization" of its climate and might develop "severe" desertification, says the environment ministry.Larger wineries and the Spanish Wine Federation are now working on a new project, called Demeter, targeted at "gathering the knowledge necessary to face the challenge of climate change."Vines thrive in the sun, but too much can harm the ripening of the grapes, said Cacho.Heat steals sugar from the grapes while the parts that allow the wine to have its scent, consistency and its color ripen too slowly.Spanish vintners have to decide between an early harvest with the correct amount of alcohol but is still considered "green" or an older one where the grapes create a higher quality wine but has a higher alcohol content."The wineries prefer to wait...
Try our segmented RSS Feeds
