By Rachel Montefiore

Global warming is intensifying and rapidly changing the world we live in. These climate changes could even alter centuries-old traditions.

Around the world, wineries are already having to deal not only with hotter summers, but also with milder, warmer winters and with unexpected, sometimes violent, events resulting from climate change, such as powerful hailstorms, 
Spring frosts, floods and forest fires. 

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 As temperatures soar and with unpredictable precipitation, the likelihood of pests increases; 

High temperatures allow many insect species to live longer, especially considering that winters are shorter and milder. 

Winemakers around the world are being forced to adapt accordingly, developing "new" grape varieties, harvesting grapes at different times of the year, or even migrating to new regions. 

 

so what‌ What actually happens when the climate goes crazy, unpredictable, and mostly warms up? 

 

When the climate in a particular area changes and warms, it can disrupt the balance of sugar, acid, and secondary compounds. 
In grapes, by changing the rate at which they develop during the growing season. As with most fruits, there is a decrease in acidity and an increase 
in the amount of sugar as they ripen. At higher temperatures, ripening is accelerated, leading to a sweeter taste, 
Think, for example, about raisins. 

During fermentation, the yeast consumes these sugars and the main product is alcohol. Therefore, fermenting sweeter fruit produces a higher alcohol content in the wine.

In warm regions like ours, this is an undesirable trend, especially since faster ripening is also accompanied by a decrease in acidity.
Acidity is essential, it functions as the backbone of the wine and it provides the all-important freshness that delights our palate with every sip. It also ensures that the wines will last for years. 

 

If the whole story were just the ratio of sugar to acid, the solution would also be relatively simple: 

In an earlier harvest. Before the sugar syrup rises to the top and the backbone, the acidity, stands firm, then the harvest is done.

But that's not the whole story... Heinen and the vinedresser also want secondary ripening;

It is responsible for the aromas and tannins in wine, which is just as important! 

 This consideration, theoretically, could force the winemaker to forgo early harvest and take the risk of harvesting later in favor of secondary ripening, which could pose a risk to the acidity level, which could drop rapidly, and to a high sugar level that would climb higher and higher.

The result: a wine that is too alcoholic with low acidity, the final product will be a thin wine that "bites" with a lot of alcohol and lacks any elegance.

The best way to think about the impact of global warming on the wine world is this:

Think about the human body, how you feel when your body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius compared to 38, a difference of just one degree - turns us from a healthy person to a sick one.

One of the wine regions that specializes in producing wine in a drought is none other than the Holy Land, Israel. 

We, as a country that is considered very warm, have solutions. 

Israel has cracked the challenge of growing grapes and producing wine in impossible, hot conditions. 

And even hot. By blue and white irrigation systems, creative shading methods, and variety selection 

 Grapes that will thrive in these harsh conditions. And what about growing wine without irrigation at all?

 

Our founders - Assaf Paz and Doron Belogolovsky - predicted the future in all matters of climate and carried the following approach from the very beginning:
"In the Land of Israel, wine should be grown and produced from local - Mediterranean - grape varieties. Varieties that know how to not only survive but also thrive in drought conditions. Varieties with a strong backbone, a skin like protective armor, full of roughness and character, and a delicate, juicy core that brings with it tenderness and freshness to the glass. Vines whose roots descend into the depths and find life from the earth and not from the sky."

At Vitkin Winery, we took advantage of this phenomenon: extreme heat loads act as a "disinfectant" in the vineyard and kill fungi that are harmful to the leaves and fruit, as well as certain pests, thereby minimizing spraying as much as possible in order to maintain a healthy environment free from unnecessary pesticides.

The principle of taking as many vineyards as possible for management and growth without irrigation at all reduces their dependence on scarce water, and they rely on water reserves from deep in the ground and remain vital even in such difficult times.

As early as 2001, we paved the way that over the years many Israeli wineries have followed us, pioneering the production of wines from varieties such as Carignan, Grenache, Viognier, Macabeo, and more.
Drinking Israeli wine is not just a "label"; it is a choice: drinking wine from local varieties, which bring out the wonderful uniqueness of our "hard" soil, a true oasis in the world of wine.

Cheers!

 

In the photo - a Carignan vineyard without an irrigation system, even in a drought year, looks vital and healthy.