Global warming and viticulture will give Brittany a new reason to be proud

Science – Ar gwin a vez tennetNow you have to drink it. In the ocean of bad news that global warming brings, there are predictions that deserve some optimism. A new study on the adaptation of wine-growing regions to global warming, published in the journal Nature This Tuesday, March 26, comes with something to worry about… but also some hope. Especially if you have your heart set on Anne de Bretagne.

A study conducted by a French team under the auspices of the National School of Agronomic Sciences, clarifies the state of risk by region: year by year, it is more and more difficult to make wine in the Mediterranean regions, and this trend should not be. Change when studies rely on possible scenarios of temperatures 2° above pre-industrial temperatures. Because the problem isn’t just heat (which delays harvest), it’s also water. Or rather the absence thereof.

In France and Mediterranean Spain, in the Po Valley of Italy, in the Balkan Peninsula or southwest of the Black Sea, “Water scarcity risks make it impossible to increase the irrigation needed to preserve these wine-growing regions”, studies suggest. Languedoc wine lovers, consider stocking your cellar…

Breizh Trendy Pinot Noir

However, at least in France all is not so gloomy. Milder temperatures make it possible to open up certain regions to wine cultivation: a trend that some French regions have experienced for years, even decades. Île-de-France and Picardy, regions with a long, almost extinct wine-growing tradition, are already gaining color.

For them, warming improves existing conditions. But only one area in France stands out as an area “suitable for viticulture” for explorers, albeit rarely: Brittany.

Of course, wine lovers will tell you that Breton wines did not wait for the world to rise above 2 degrees to develop vines. But compared to neighboring Nantes, the production is embryonic: “That’s the right word,” confirm it HuffPost Yves Abutret, Secretary of the Association for the Recognition of Breton Wines, “It was in 2023 that two winemakers marketed their first harvest.” For the 2024 vintage, there should be 5 or 6.

The fault, of course, is the hitherto unfavorable climate for most of the grape varieties used by the wine industry: too low temperatures and too much rain do not allow the grapes to get sweet enough. But the maps below show that, from work by the same team dating back to 2023, almost the entire Breton region becomes suitable for maturation of Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot Noir between 2030 and 2060.

And that, for local producers or those who dream of becoming one, is a joyful prospect, which leaves room for creativity: “The aspiration is to create a wine that is unlike any other”, cheers Yves Abutrate. But of course, there are many climatic parameters that will make Brittany the new land of plenty of great wines or not: for example, the intensity of warming, which, according to the government, could reach not 2 but 4° in France. .. with alcohol, therefore, in moderation. Otherwise hello damage.

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