“In France, the projected climate changes threaten the very definition of wine, says Bernard Seguin, a climatologist with the French National Agronomy Institute. Each one degree increase in temperature in France is equivalent to moving 200 kilometers (or 124 miles) north, he says. By the end of the century, with current warming predictions, the north coast of France will be experiencing weather that today is common for the south of France.”

Napa Valley a desert? Fine wines from Denmark? This comprehensive article from AZCentral.com tells the story of how wine growing regions are already experiencing measurable changes, some positive, many negative, due to global warming. Germany’s wines are improving in quality, southern French growing regions are now using irrigation for the first time in history and the countries of northern Europe are experimenting with viticulture.
While many growers are experiencing great vintages because of warming, there is also great concern at the pace of change. Vintners need to plan far ahead, as much as fifty years, because it takes a long time to establish vines. They are unable to accurately plan for future vineyards.
Upstate NY, particularly the beautiful Finger Lakes region just south of Rochester, is a grape growing area with hundreds of small vineyards and wineries. We’ve been limited by our climate to only a few strains of vinifera grapes, the gold standard in fine wine grapes. That is changing as we warm. The surest indicator is found in land prices. An acre in Napa can go for $200,000. while Finger Lakes land was around $2000/acre. Now it has doubled in value. I’m not surprised- the region has large lakes, incredible views and is easily accessible. One of those lakes, Canandaigua, has the highest freshwater property values in the country.
Wine, like amphibians, is an early indicator of change.