The SW Summary: On early 2024 harvest reports, confusion around ‘regenerative’, a potential solution to smoke taint, and more
France expects one of smallest vintages in past century
Early harvest reports have started to come in and the effects of challenging climatic conditions can be seen across many European wine regions. In Decanter Rudy Ruitenberg reports on the official forecast for the French 2024 harvest, which predicts the country will record “one of its smallest vintages of the past century.” Volumes have fallen across all major growing regions including Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Loire Valley.
The French agriculture ministry’s statistics unit Agreste announced wine production is estimated to fall by 18% to 39.3 million hectolitres, risking the country’s position as the world’s largest wine producer. According to Agreste, the decline is “due to particularly unfavourable weather conditions, which have reduced production potential in almost all wine-growing regions.” Many vineyards saw poor fruit set due to humidity and cool temperatures during flowering. Downy mildew, frost and hail also caused significant losses. Read more here.
Austria too has declared a “very early vintage” for 2024 with volumes expected to be lower than average and 15% lower than 2023, reports Jo Gilbert in Harpers Wine & Spirit. The exceptionally early harvest is linked to temperamental weather conditions during 2024. Read more here.
Has the term ‘regenerative’ been co-opted?
If you ask W. Blake Gray, it has. Although there is no universal definition of regenerative agriculture, most people agree it’s based on a farming system that protects and restores soil. In his recent article for Wine-Searcher, Gray questions why the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has listed the following seven goals of regenerative farming, none of which have anything to do with soil health:
- “No poverty (No connection to farming)
- Zero hunger (This sounds like an argument for increasing yields by any means necessary, not for farming with environmental consciousness)
- Good health and well-being (Vague enough to be meaningless)
- Gender equality (No connection to farming)
- Sustainable cities and communities (No connection to farming)
- Responsible consumption and production (Production, sure; consumption, no)
- Climate action (OK that one fits)”
Gray feels “pretty confident in saying that the state of California’s initial stab at defining “regenerative” is clearly greenwashing,” but luckily the state is still accepting public comment and hasn’t made any decisions yet. With regenerative set to be the future ‘sustainable,’ it’s no wonder that organisations are keen to get on the buzzword bandwagon. Indeed many companies, stretching far beyond the wine industry, are “fighting to keep “regenerative” from meaning something that would require more work.”
On the flipside, many are searching for a meaningful standard of regenerative agriculture where consumers can understand what it means and trust it’s being applied, notes Jason Haas, proprietor of Tablas Creek winery in Paso Robles. Read more in Gray’s article here.
You may also be interested in learning more about the SWR’s Sustainable Viticulture Protocol, which is a shared set of steps that aims to reorient viticulture practices, with an emphasis on the reduction of chemical inputs and the adoption of regenerative techniques. You can find more information here.
European Commission convenes High-Level Group on Wine Policy
The High-Level Group on Wine Policy, a body convened by the European Commission (EC), held its inaugural meeting this month. The group’s purpose is to assess and secure the long-term sustainability of the wine industry. It brought together representatives from the EC, EU member states, and other key stakeholders in the wine industry to analyse the current landscape of the wine industry, and to strategize solutions for sustainable growth and development.
Vinetur reports on the meeting and outlines the key challenges facing the wine sector. Among these are declining wine consumption, shifting market dynamics, market disruptions, and climate challenges. The European Federation of Origin Wines (EFOW) is part of the group and EFOR president Riccardo Ricci Curbastro emphasises the importance of the new dialogue: “It is crucial, particularly in this new legislative cycle, to promote an atmosphere of constructive dialogue and avoid the polarization that has previously dominated debates in the wine industry.”
In the inaugural meeting the EFOW presented a framework of five key proposals to increase the resiliency of the wine sector in light of the current challenges. These include:
- Targeted market support to help wine producers maintain competitiveness
- Vineyard management flexibility to “enable better management of viticulture potential and ensure sustainable growth within the sector”
- Enhanced promotional tools (especially within the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy) and market diversification
- Promotion of sustainability
- Strict labelling standards
Vinetur stresses the importance of the discussion taking place, noting that “the future of European wines—especially those protected by PDO and PGI designations—hinges on proactive, well-coordinated policy measures.” Read the article here.
A solution to smoke taint?
Wildfires are an increasing threat to vineyards around the world and smoke taint is a billion dollar problem. When grapes are exposed to smoke, the resulting wines tend to have an unpleasant ashy aroma, taste and mouthfeel. In Decanter Chris Mercer reports on new research that shows promising results for removing the volatile compounds that cause the unpleasant smoke taint aromas and taste.
According to researchers in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, current methods to remove smoke taint compounds cannot be done in isolation. The removal of the volatile smoke taint compounds often also results in the removal of “desirable compounds that contribute to a wine’s bouquet, colour and flavour.”
In a study partly funded by the Australian government, a new ‘fishing’ method has shown positive results. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), or “synthetic materials that can bind to one or more target compounds,” can be used to ‘fish’ the unpleasant volatile compounds out of the wine. The researchers added beads of MIPs to wine and found that “despite some impact on other aroma volatiles and red wine colour, the findings demonstrate that MIPs can ameliorate smoke-tainted wine.” They also found that the MIPs can be rinsed and reused. You can find the research paper here.
Spain combats climate change with five year plan
Spain is no stranger to the harsh impacts of climate change. Having suffered from long droughts, its vineyards have “felt the brunt of climate change perhaps more severely than any other wine nation,” notes Louis Thomas in the drinks business. In response, the Federación Española del Vino (FEV) has recently announced a five year plan to combat the effects of climate change in the vineyard through various adaptation and mitigation measures.
According to the press release, over the next five years the FEV aims to “to establish sectoral adaptation measures focused on alleviating the effects of climate change on Spanish vineyards, and… to guarantee not only quality raw materials, but also the sustainability of the sector in both the medium- and the long-term.” Thomas explains how the new plan is an update of an initial plan drafted in 2018.
The full details of the plan will be publicly available upon approval of the FEV executive committee and other bodies in the wine sector. Read the article here.
