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Wine whine

  • 14/05/2006

Wine whine The quality of wines worldwide is being affected by climate change, claimed experts at a world conference recently. Increasing temperature will affect viticulture in many ways, they said at the first-ever World Conference on Global Warming and Wine, which was recently held in Barcelona. Some red wines may lose colour, some will lose their flavour and some whites may disappear, said Australian viticulturalist Richard Smart.

Smart drew attention to the dangers of vine infestation as temperatures rose, particularly in the case of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, which spreads the fatal Pierce's disease. Experts pointed out that the dangers of global warming to the wine industry might seem trivial to some, but extreme sensitivity of vines to climate made it the most direct and striking example of global warming.

The conference called on governments to take heed of the warning signals and to invest in grapevine-breeding programmes to find varieties that will work in hotter temperatures, as well as improved irrigation systems.