Major Australian Wine Regions May Be Unviable Within Decades

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SOME of Australia's major wine-growing regions could be unviable within decades because of climate change and others will have to plant different grapes to adapt to hotter weather and shorter growing seasons. The first comprehensive national study of the impact of climate change on the country's $5.8 billion wine industry predicts land suitable for producing good quality wine could shrink by between 27 and 44 per cent by 2050.

Producers of pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc are likely to be most affected. Up to 60 per cent of land suitable for those varieties is predicted to be too hot to produce premium wine by 2050. At worst, the NSW Riverina, which produces most of the state's grape harvest, and Western Australia's Swan Valley may become unviable in that period. In contrast, Tasmanian wine growers may benefit, with more areas becoming warm enough to produce pinot noir and sauvignon blanc.

Elsewhere, wine-grape quality is expected to suffer because of hotter weather, including in NSW's Hunter Valley, the Murray Valley on the Victoria-NSW border, and South Australia's Clare Valley.

But the researcher who produced the study for Melbourne University and the CSIRO, viticulturalist and PhD student Leanne Webb said her findings were not necessarily bad news for wine lovers. "It's not all doom and gloom, as long as the industry can adapt by doing things like developing new regions, and using land in suitable regions more effectively," she said.

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http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/winemakers-feel-heat-of-new-climate/2006/10/22/1161455608873.html