{"id":14755,"date":"2016-05-27T14:28:57","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T14:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/?p=14755"},"modified":"2016-05-27T14:28:57","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T14:28:57","slug":"at-the-international-cool-climate-wine-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/uncategorized\/at-the-international-cool-climate-wine-symposium","title":{"rendered":"At the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Greg<\/a>
Greg Jones presenting at ICCWS 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

570 delegates, three tons of ice, 22 000 glasses. Brighton in May. It\u2019s the 9th International Cool Climate Wine Symposium, and it\u2019s being held in the UK for the first time, and everyone is quite excited. I\u2019m currently sitting in a session on Day 2, so I thought I\u2019d report a bit on the first day.<\/p>\n

Bruce Tindale, the event chair, kicked things off with some facts and figures on the UK wine industry. Things have been moving fast: there are now over 2000 hectares of vines here which has doubled over the last eight years. The UK is looking to grow to 3000 hectares by 2020, with production set to rise to 10 million bottles by then (the current average is 5 million). There are now 502 commercial vineyards and 133 wineries, and the retail value of the wine produced is some \u00a382 million. Currently just 5% exported. Sparkling wine is 66% of production by volume.<\/p>\n

Jancis Robinson was delivering the welcome keynote speech. \u2018So many of the world\u2019s finest wines are made in relatively cool climates,\u2019 she said, pointing out that over the last few decades the cooler regions have found life a little easier: \u2018Those of us in cool climates are fortunate in this era of climate change that we have benefited from rising temperatures.\u2019<\/p>\n

Jancis described the ICCWS as a hugely significant event, celebrating the coming of age of England and Wales as wine producing countries. \u2018It is amazing to see the dramatic progress made by the English wine industry,\u2019 she says, referring specifically to the recent success of Hambledon and Nyetimber at the Noble Rot tasting.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a big fan of English sparkling wine. \u2018Nowadays it is made with such competence and consistency,\u2019 she points out. \u2018It\u2019s not a copy of Champagne. It\u2019s hedgerow in a glass.\u2019 Jancis suggests that the UK is playing an oversized influence in the world of wine, especially in the realm of writing: books, magazines and now online writing. So why not for winemaking also?<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just sparkling. \u2018English still wines continue to make significant progress,\u2019 she adds. \u2018I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to have my socks knocked off by an English Pinot Noir or Riesling.\u2019<\/p>\n

Given the success of England\u2019s wine industry, she is surprised the government haven\u2019t been more supportive. Addressing her comments to George Eustace MP, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), she made some political points. \u2018Plumpton College\u2019s WineSkills Programme has had to be abandoned because DEFRA has rescinded its funding of it,\u2019 said Jancis, \u2018at the very time when the English wine industry has reached new heights of accomplishment and fame,\u2019 And there was more. \u2018For some mysterious reason, DEFRA has failed to renew its membership of the OIV, the world\u2019s massively important International Organisation of Vine and Wine. This means that Plumpton can\u2019t participate in international research projects, leaving it marginalised from the world of wine academia. And it also means that the British in general and English producers in particular have no voice whatsoever in international wine negotiations and regulation. Holland, Belgium, Sweden, India and Azerbaijahn are all members, whereas it would only take a small, five figure sum for the UK to rejoin the OIV.\u2019<\/p>\n

The next session was with Greg Jones (Southern Oregon University) and Hans Schultz (Geisenheim), talking about climate change and emerging cool climate regions.<\/p>\n

Hans pointed out that cool climates presented both opportunities and risks. The temperature during the growing seasons matters, but he also drew attention to day length effects, which climatic indices tend to neglect.<\/p>\n

For coastal zones, high rainfall can be a risk, for continental zones, winter lows are often a problem.<\/p>\n

They highlighted some extreme cool climate locations (with degrees latitude):<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Leelanau Peninsula, northern Michigan 45.15<\/li>\n
  • Kamloops, Canada 50.68<\/li>\n
  • Lake Timagami, Canada 46.4<\/li>\n
  • Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia 45.15<\/li>\n
  • Sussex, Canada 45.4<\/li>\n
  • Chiloe Island, Chile 42.67<\/li>\n
  • Sarminento, Argentina 45.58<\/li>\n
  • Bruny Island, Australia 43.32<\/li>\n
  • Alexandra, New Zealand 45.26<\/li>\n
  • Aalborg, Denmark 57.1<\/li>\n
  • Gothenberg, Sweden 57.7 (close to sea, moderates the climate)<\/li>\n
  • Zilona Gora, Poland 51.6 (very continental climate)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Historical records show that, if a rolling 10 year average is used, there has been an increase in growing season temperatures since the 1980s. Oxford in the UK is now the same as Geisehneim was in 1980, and Gothenberg is now the same as Oxford was in 1980. The impact of climate change has been felt more in northern latitudes. Over the past century there has been an average rise of 1.3 C.<\/p>\n

    Daylength has not been paid enough attention. Compare Sweden (57.7 N) and Adelaide Hills (34.7 N). At summer\u2019s peak there is a 3 h 20 min difference in day length between the two.
    \nCarbon dioxide assimilation by vines is 20-30 tons\/ha per year, and the different day lengths can account for 0.8-3.2 tons CO2 per year.<\/p>\n

    Winter cold is a big risk in many cool climate wine regions. If temperatures drop down to -20 C, then it\u2019s trouble for most Vitis vinifera. But different varieties show different susceptibilities. Gamay is very frost resistant, Pinotage also strong, and Chardonnay is also hardy. Syrah is very sensitive, as is Lagrein.<\/p>\n

    A one degree temperature change opens up some new areas for cool climate viticulture, and some cool areas become intermediate climates. Greg and Hans reckon we will reach this one degree change by 2040, which isn\u2019t a long time. So it looks like constant change is here to stay. More on the rest of day one later. I need to pay attention to this talk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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