Is climate change affecting wine's flavour?
wine
Anita Oberholster, a wine chemist, received hundreds of emails from distraught viticulturists after the terrible Glass Fire broke out in California's Napa Valley. All were interested in knowing if they could harvest grapes without the feared smoke taint, which might impart an unpleasing ashtray flavourto the wine.
Even the strongest wines can be killed by weather extremes, but chemical changes in the berries represent a significant portion of the climate threat. That's because, at its most fundamental level, wine quality comes down to striking a balance between three characteristics of berries: sugar, acid, and secondary. As wines engage in photosynthesis, sugar accumulates in berries, and acid degrades as grapes ripen.
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"Terroir", a French word referring to a variety of environmental conditions such as soil types, and rainfall, all have an impact on wine's flavour. However, according to Oberholster, the biggest terroir component is climate, the BBC reported.
The wine sector is already experiencing a blurring between wines, which is being fueled by rising temperatures, increasing weather conditions and other ways of growing methods. Changes in wine flavour are minor compared to smoke taint and other dreaded climatic influences.
Oberholster defines this as having an ashtray flavour at the back of your throat with notes of band-aid and medicinal, although a slight amount of smokiness might enhance a wine.
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Will people continue to buy wine? Extreme heat and smoke are too much for grapes to handle. Therefore, scientists and winemakers are working to find ways to use crops that are impacted by the climate while producing wines that are well-rounded.
Oberholster advises growers to conduct a small-scale bucket fermentation to test for smoke taint. She believes that many of the vines left unharvested after the devastating California fires in 2020 could still have produced good wine. However, as per research, wine ratings have increased over the past 60 years.
(With inputs from agencies)
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