The Brown family could not stop deadly bushfires that tore through the Victorian countryside in 2008. It served as a wake-up call for them.
Flames had nearly destroyed vineyards that five generations of their family had devoted more than a century of love and labour to igniting three times in recent years.
This was a clear warning sign they couldn’t ignore despite the fact that the warm days, falling rainfall, and ensuing drought had sneaked up on them.
The “biggest threat” to the family enterprises, according to Caroline Brown, is climate change.
The Browns, the family behind one of Australia’s oldest wine companies, are not the only ones that have this issue. The nation is the fifth-largest exporter of wine in the world and is home to a wide variety of wine areas that most other nations could only hope for.
The vineyards of Ashley Ratcliff are already located in one of the hottest as well as driest wine regions on earth.
He recalls a year when their vines in South Australia’s Riverland region only received 90mm of rain, which is 10 times less than the region’s yearly average for Bordeaux, a well-known French wine region.
He describes the conditions as being hot and unclean and dusty. On the other extreme, you get really wet years that make you doubt that it will ever dry out.
And things will only worsen.
According to modelling by Australian researchers, the Riverland will become roughly 1.3 degrees hotter and have less rainfall over the next 20 years.
Although the nation is still recuperating from years of record-breaking flooding, fear of the upcoming fire season is mounting as an El Nino summer is predicted to bring dry and scorching weather to much of Australia.
The fruit itself is sensitive to its surroundings, despite grapevines being referred to be “one of the most valuable weeds in the world” and capable of growing practically everywhere.
And flavour and quality have already been impacted by climate change. The amount of sugar and acidity in the grapes as well as the rate at which they ripen, are all impacted by heat.
The growing season has already advanced, sometimes by weeks, which has an effect on infrastructure and logistics.
Then there is the effect of meteorological phenomena brought on by climate change, which at its worst, might destroy the harvest for an entire season.
Because of all of this, it will become more difficult to grow wine grapes that are suited to cooler climes in Australia, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.
When the Ratcliffs bought their vineyards in 2003, they made the calculated decision to plant “alternative” types better suited to warmer climates.
They concluded that selling fewer well-known grapes posed a higher danger than climate change. Anyone who hasn’t thought of doing the same 20 years later is deceiving themselves, according to Mr. Ratcliff.
“There are so many ardent doomsayers. To use climate change as positive rather than a negative, I believe there is a chance to rebrand and make the sector incredibly attractive.
The typical consumer won’t discern much of a distinction between their favourite wines and the alternative, emerging types that Ricca Terra sells, such as Montepulciano, Fiano, and Nero D’Avola. The grapes require less water and are generally more resilient and environmentally friendly.
The Brown family also raises alternate types, some of which they developed in collaboration with an Australian research organization. To preserve the lives of the present favourites, they have also looked south.
They started buying vineyards in cooler places like Tasmania in response to climate change, which is a rising trend in the business.
We came to the realization that having all of our vineyards in Victoria in one place meant we had all of our eggs in one basket, according to Ms. Brown.
Hayley Purbrick of Tahbilk Winery is one grower who is continuing to operate as usual despite “confronting” climate modelling.
It is duty to foster an environment in which grapes can flourish, she adds. “There are many things you can do locally, and we get a little too caught up in the impossibility of what we can’t do.”
In the Goulburn Valley, her family’s vineyards make the most of “natural coolants” and shade. They are surrounded by 160 hectares of woods and are situated on the verge of wetlands.
Additionally, they have reduced their carbon emissions to zero through the use of solar energy, heat reflective paint to reduce the need for air conditioning, and trash reduction.
So far, it’s working: The fact that we are three degrees colder than locations even three kilometres distant makes us fortunate.
According to the current trajectory, Australia as a whole will become warmer and drier.
While a few degrees might not sound like much, he warns that it might be disastrous.
The frequency of really hot days increases by around ten times, if not more, with every three degrees shift in the average. We won’t likely worry about wine production if global temperatures rise by more than three degrees.
And it is precisely what growers like Caroline Brown are struggling with. She views the family company as being closely linked to the family’s past.
She spent her early years playing rough about Milawa’s vineyards with her cousins. Now they are all employed by the company.
She fervently desires the same for upcoming generations.
We have a strong commitment to family, she explains. “Our great-grandfather founded the company; we hope our great-grandchildren will one day enjoy the fortunate circumstances we do.”
She is, however well aware of the threat posed by climate change.
But she asserts that it will be possible to cultivate most, if not all, of the nation’s favourite types someplace.
“Cabernet will always be grown in Australia, but it might not taste as good in the future.”
