California’s climate has always been one with extremes. Cool mornings regularly give way to hot afternoons during the summer growing season. It is a climatic challenge to which farmers here have adapted. But with climate change comes the risk of intensifying long-term extremes. Things like longer droughts, more intense heat waves, and more erratic rain patterns in the winter. All of these things will make the future of farming less predictable, especially for those growing wine grapes. Michael Baldinelli and his family have owned Baldinelli Vineyards in Amador County for 50 years. He said he noticed these changes in weather conditions and it affected the way he made decisions about the upcoming harvest. “It’s more that you react rather than prepare. Baldinelli said. This uncertainty adds a lot of stress to an already risky industry. Indeed, wine grapes are particularly sensitive to factors such as temperature and exposure to the sun. Both affect the quality of the wine produced. Climate change is expected to increase the average temperature in the Sierra foothills by as much as 5 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit this century. This warming combined with increased drought could scald grapes grown using traditional methods. Recent research from UC Davis has revealed that the type of trellis – the structure used to support vines – may be a key factor in the success of future grape crops. Cliff Yu was one of the scientists leading the UC Davis study in the Napa area. According to him, the traditional trellis “in a vertical growth position” increases the risk of overheating and sunburn. “Because this trellis system is very open to the environment, it has a better chance of sunlight penetrating the canopy and warming the fruit,” Yu said. This same research found that the choice of a different type of trellis, one that allows the vines’ leaves to form a canopy over the fruit, can provide significant protection. Baldinelli has coincidentally been using this recommended setup for some time. He said he made the switch because this method can also increase the chances of a bigger crop yield. Yu said that while the trellis types have been tested in Napa, the potential benefits could be seen just about anywhere wine grapes are grown. “Their vineyards could be sustainable for many years to come. We can grow grapes, the same crop, for many generations,” Yu said. be quite high Replacing all the support poles in a vineyard could cost tens of thousands of dollars even for a relatively small operation and once the change is made it takes years to form new vines to follow the supporting structure. Either way, science shows that some adaptation will be needed in the California wine industry to protect the region’s wine quality from the effects of climate change.
California’s climate has always been one with extremes. Cool mornings regularly give way to hot afternoons during the summer growing season. It is a climatic challenge to which farmers here have adapted.
But with climate change comes the risk of intensifying long-term extremes. Things like longer droughts, more intense heat waves, and more erratic rain patterns in the winter. All of these things will make the future of farming less predictable, especially for those growing wine grapes.
Michael Baldinelli and his family have owned Baldinelli Vineyards in Amador County for 50 years. He said he noticed these changes in weather conditions and it affected the way he made decisions about the upcoming harvest.
“It’s more about you reacting rather than preparing. You can’t say ‘oh well last year we did that’,” Baldinelli said.
This uncertainty adds a lot of stress to an already risky industry. Indeed, wine grapes are particularly sensitive to factors such as temperature and exposure to the sun. Both affect the quality of the wine produced.
Climate change is expected to increase the average temperature in the Sierra foothills by as much as 5 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit this century. This warming combined with increased drought could scald grapes grown using traditional methods.
Recent research from UC Davis has revealed that the type of trellis – the structure used to support vines – may be a key factor in the success of future grape crops.
Cliff Yu was one of the scientists leading the UC Davis study in the Napa area. According to him, the traditional trellis “in a vertical growth position” increases the risk of overheating and sunburn.
“Because this trellis system is very open to the environment, it has a better chance of sunlight penetrating the canopy and warming the fruit,” Yu said.
This same research found that choosing a different type of trellis, which allows the leaves of the vine to form a canopy over the fruit, can provide significant protection.
Baldinelli has coincidentally been using this recommended setup for some time. He said he made the switch because this method can also increase the chances of getting a bigger crop yield.
Yu said that although the trellis types have been tested in Napa, the potential benefits could be seen just about anywhere wine grapes are grown.
“Their vineyards could be sustainable for many years. We can grow grapes, the same crop, for many, many generations,” Yu said.
Although this change is promising in the long term, the initial cost to farmers could be quite high. Replacing all the support posts in a vineyard could cost tens of thousands of dollars for even a relatively small operation and once the change is made, it takes years to train new vines to follow the support structure.
Either way, science shows that some adaptation will be needed in the California wine industry to protect the region’s wine quality from the effects of climate change.