Italian winemakers look to new technologies with old grape varieties to adapt to a changing climate

Massimo Tosoni paces done his vineyards, the rows stretching similar ribbons of greenish nether a relentless sun. In the distance, the municipality of Tarquinia sits connected a hilltop erstwhile ruled by the past Etruscans.

“Look astatine the rows of vineyards there,” helium said, gesturing past a section reddish grape, Ciliegiolo, known for its cherry-like aroma. “The world is arsenic adust and hard arsenic stone.”

The 73-year-old shakes his head. It’s the effect of ungraded unwatered for excessively long, wherever the prima has sucked retired each past driblet of life, blocking reabsorption of water.

Italy’s vineyards, similar overmuch of the world’s, are grappling with summers that are hotter and longer, erratic upwind and dwindling water.

These shifts are forcing winemakers to rethink 1 of the oldest assumptions successful their craft: terroir, the delicate interplay of soil, sun, wind, rainfall and quality interaction that gives each vino its circumstantial taste, immoderate mightiness say, soul.

If planetary temperatures emergence much than 2 C by century’s end, studies suggest up to 90 per cent of Italy’s lowland and coastal vino regions — astir one-third of the country’s vino increasing territory — could go unsuitable for viticulture, with akin risks for astir of the world’s vineyards.

Tosino, right, and his daughter, Martina Tosino, left, are among the thousands of Italian vino producers adapting their operations due to the fact that of a changing climate. (Megan Williams/CBC)

Italy is simply a apical planetary vino producer, with its manufacture worthy $20.7 cardinal Cdn and representing 10 per cent of the country’s agri-food economy. Before U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs connected the European Union, exports totalled a grounds $12 cardinal Cdn successful 2024, driven by premium and certified wines, adjacent arsenic producers faced clime extremes: drought successful the southbound and hail and torrential downpours successful the north. 

In bluish Lazio, the portion astir Rome that produces astir 3 per cent of Italian wine, Tosoni, and his daughter, Martina Tosoni, 42, who returned to the workplace aft moving successful tourism successful Spain, are among the thousands of producers already adapting.

Their achromatic grapes, Trebbiano, Malvasia, Vermentino and Vioner, erstwhile harvested successful October, present ripen by precocious August.

“Last twelvemonth we waited excessively agelong and due to the fact that of clime alteration mislaid a 3rd of our harvest,” said Massimo.

WATCH | Tosoni describes interaction of clime change:

Shifting to different varieties

Nearby producers person begun swapping the section Sangiovese and Montepulciano reds with the heat-tolerant Syrah, which was erstwhile grown mostly connected the confederate land of Sicily.

Martina said the deficiency of water, much than heat, is present the top threat.

“There’s a immense generational leap successful consciousness astir businesslike usage of water,” she said. 

She and different producers person introduced irrigation rotations to forestall shortages and upgraded their systems to minimize waste. Younger growers similar her whitethorn besides beryllium tech-savvy and amended equipped to entree authorities grants for irrigation and different clime challenges.

Vinsanto grapes bent to adust successful Tuscany. (Megan Williams/CBC)

“I usage an app to oversee irrigation,” she said. “I cheque connected it from my room, whereas my dada utilized to person to get up 4 times a nighttime to cheque the filters.”

Still, an old, mostly abandoned method of grafting the section grapes onto chaotic vines is proving particularly resilient, her begetter said.

“That enactment of Trebbiano achromatic grapes is arsenic aged arsenic Martina and is doing conscionable fine.” 

Looking to the community

Martina believes assemblage is arsenic important arsenic innovation. She and section producers, who already person a co-op for fruit, are forming a consortium for vino wherever they tin program unneurotic to fortify selling and vititourism, a captious signifier of diversification successful progressively hard circumstances. 

“If the enactment is forward-looking similar ours, it makes a immense difference. We’re helping each producers, not conscionable one, adapt.”

Kimberly Nicholas, a sustainability idiosyncratic astatine Lund University successful Sweden, has studied the nexus betwixt vino and clime alteration for much than 2 decades and says adapting to a shifting clime is present apical of caput for each vino producer.

Italy's vino manufacture is worthy $20.7 cardinal Cdn and represents 10 per cent of the country’s agri-food economy. (Megan Williams/CBC)

“The biggest change,” she said, “is that it’s understood and recognized by everyone successful the vino manufacture that this is happening. It’s not immoderate imaginable aboriginal oregon thing that volition hap elsewhere.”

Grapes present ripen earlier, astatine higher temperatures, which she says damages “all the peculiar compounds that marque the astir delicious wines unique.” 

The result: little acid, much sugar, higher intoxicant — and a flatter flavour.

New strategies successful the vineyard

Some of that excess intoxicant tin beryllium removed successful the winery. But vineyard strategies enactment better: shadiness cloths strung implicit vineyards, accepted trellising that leaves much foliage to shadiness the fruit, and replanting rows successful directions that trim nonstop prima exposure.

Nicholas is skeptical of those who suggest expanding accumulation of vino successful bluish countries arsenic portion of the solution.

“I don’t deliberation that’s a precise astute mode to look astatine vino increasing successful the future,” she said. “This thought that you tin conscionable prime up Napa Valley and determination it to Alaska is truly naïve.”

Even climbing higher connected hills oregon mountains has limits.

Tosino checks connected his grapes successful his vineyard. (Megan Williams/CBC)

“With clime change, plants and animals are moving retired of elevation,” she said.

Some producers are experimenting with vitivoltaic star panels that make powerfulness and supply shadiness oregon reviving immoderate of the mostly forgotten grape varieties that fare amended successful a hotter world.

“The bulk of planetary vino accumulation comes from 12 varieties of grapes,” Nicholas said. 

“The vino manufacture would beryllium well-served to broaden the usage of the immense untapped biologic diverseness and thousands of cultivated varieties of grapes,” to velocity up ripening.

Intelligent adaptation

In Tuscany, Lamberto Frescobaldi — whose household has made vino for 700 years — views the upheaval arsenic an accidental for intelligent adaptation.

Water, helium said, is present Tuscany’s astir precious resource. He said the portion needs much h2o reservoirs similar Bilancino Lake northbound of Florence, built successful the 1960s, that tin merchandise h2o to prolong vines erstwhile rivers tally low.

“In Tuscany, we’re planting north-facing vineyards and selecting rootstocks that turn deeper to entree ungraded moisture,” Frescobaldi said. “It’s important successful the archetypal years erstwhile young plants person shallow roots and request the astir water.”

His household is besides planting astatine higher elevations, wherever frost and somesthesia drops tin onslaught without warning. To mitigate the risk, they’re investing successful machines that circulate lukewarm aerial supra the vines to forestall freezing.

Their grape premix is shifting, arsenic well. Frescobaldi present grows heat-resistant Vermentino and cautiously matches different varieties to their champion caller niches.

Grapes erstwhile harvested successful Italy successful aboriginal October are present being picked successful precocious August. (Megan Williams/CBC)

“Every twelvemonth idiosyncratic says, ‘Oh my God! We’re picking Pinot Grigio astatine the extremity of July,’” helium said. “I mean, is the clime changing? Yes. But the existent question is, are we present planting Pinot Grigio successful the close place?”

Inevitable change

Still, these adaptations unsettle centuries of contented — and strain Italy’s Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin), the ineligible model meant to sphere each wine’s determination identity.

Wine styles and traditions volition inevitably change, said Kimberly Nicolas, a nonaccomplishment that is already underway.

“I person a vessel of Pinot Noir from erstwhile I was doing my PhD and I don’t cognize if I’ll ever bring myself to portion it due to the fact that it’s a flavour disappearing from this Earth and I’m not definite I’ll ever find it again.”