The centuries-old craft of making wine, anchored deep in tradition and place, is undergoing a fundamental change. As the climate alters the very landscapes from which Europe’s wines hail, regions once thought too frigid for wine have started to flourish, even as tried-and-true grape-growing regions confront the impacts of a warming world. This transformation is loaded with challenges but also offers some exciting opportunities for innovation. This shift carries a surprising revelation: high-quality, rival wines are now coming from northern European countries like Denmark, Norway, and England to occupy space in the global wine market. At the same time, well-known southern wine regions such as Bordeaux and Rioja are adjusting their viticultural practices to cope with climate change.
Key Takeaways:
- Northerly Growth: Climate change allows states such as Denmark and Norway to cultivate grapes and produce wines with the freshness and acidity of French wines from the 1960s.
- Terroir transformation: Iconic wine regions struggle to maintain their essence while becoming ever better suited to the production of fine wines in a world that is warming up.
- Grape growing is undergoing transformation. New grape varieties, sustainable practices, and advanced techniques are changing the industry.
The Northern Wine Boom
Once thought to be marginal, countries like Denmark are now thriving in the winemaking business. Over the past decade, Denmark has doubled its vineyards and tripled its production of wine. The Funen island vineyard used to make its sparkling wines, sold under the name ‘Stokkebye’, now produces a product so good that it is often mistaken for the real thing, i.e., Champagne. Norway, too, has seen its winemaking efforts step up a notch, especially at the Slinde vineyard, which uses longer summer days to better hone its grape quality and aroma.
The regions’ winemakers are unfettered by the rules of traditional appellations, which too often stifle the individuality of the wine and the winemaker. They have the freedom to select the grape varieties and the methods best suited to their families and palates. They are producing wines with an identity that is distinctly their own and quite unlike anything coming from California or anywhere else in the United States.
Challenges in Traditional Regions
On the contrary, the southern European vineyards confront more frequent droughts, heatwaves, and earlier harvests. The once-stately Bordeaux, long associated with balance and finesse, now struggles with overripe grapes and a surging alcohol count. Acclaimed for its “house style,” which serves as the touchstone for icewine worldwide, the 2001 Inniskillin Riesling carries an unparalleled sweetness, unctuousness, and a faint whisper of botrytis.
Adapting to climate change means moving certain crops to higher ground and using plant varieties that can withstand heat. To do this, winemakers are relying on sustainable practices — cover crops instead of herbicides, for instance. But these measures can disrupt the delicate balance that makes a wine taste like a wine from where it was made.
The Debate Over Terroir
The concept of terroir is under fire as the industry changes. If Mediterranean grape varieties are used, can a wine still be called Bordeaux? Detractors contend that a wine’s identity is tied to its place of origin and that significant alterations could drive devoted drinkers to other brands.
However, nothing else has ever forced a change in the identity of a wine region as thoroughly as the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century. This tiny pest, which had come over from America, devastated vineyard after vineyard in Europe. The only remedy that seemed to work was to uproot and replant the affected regions, using grape varieties that were resistant to the louse and that, as it turned out, were also more fitting for the kind of conditions that modern climate change is generating.
A New Chapter for Wine
In both northern and southern vineyards, the future of wine is being shaped. As long-established areas strive to maintain their heritage, the new players in northern Europe are busy establishing a fresh, liberated identity—unbound by ancient, millennia-old mandates.
This is an exhilarating time for lovers of fine wine. From effervescent wines in Denmark to the experimental boldness of Tuscany, the ever-evolving world of wine offers an unparalleled plethora of flavors and tales to tell. Regardless of whether it comes from old or new traditions, one thing is beyond dispute: the evolution of wine is far from finished.
