|
Eiswein suffers under climate change
June 27, 2008
Janice Fuhrman in Bacharach, Germany
German Eiswein may soon be a thing of the past due to climate change.
According to Jochen Ratzenberger, of Wiengut Ratzenberger, studies on climate change conducted at the Geisenheim Institute, Germany's foremost center for research and education in enology and viticulture, show a trend towards a lack of hard freezes in winter.
Very low temperatures are a necessity for producing the country's traditional ice wine – the grapes will not freeze above 7 degrees celsius.
The problem of warmer winters is compounded by the fact that the longer you leave the grapes on the vine in the hope of a freeze, the more danger there is of rot setting in.
But Decanter contributor and German wine expert Freddie Price pointed out that botrytised styles beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese can be made at less risk and for more money.
Klaus-Peter Keller of Weingut Keller in Rheinhessen said that it was becoming 'harder and harder to produce eiswein in Germany.'
Martin Kerpen of Weingut Kerpen, who has been making ice wine for 33 years, said, 'Hopefully, the weather will not change too quickly so we will try still for some more years.'
He acknowledged that global warming makes the process more difficult, but added, 'You only need one really cold night to get ice wine.'
Christa Jüngling of Weingut Paulinshof said she would keep trying as long as there is a demand for ice wine. 'My opinion and that of many of my fellow winemakers is, let's see what happens and let's try it again.'
The dimming prospects for ice wine come at the same time that exports of German wine are rising and wine consumption at home has hit an all-time high – to 20.6 liters per capita. Exports rose 13% in value and 8% in volume in 2007.
Have your say...
To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field
Eiswein is usually made under the influence of high-pressure, clear weather coming from the northeast, a sort of 'Siberian Express'. Such freezes are ineffective only when there is too much shallow freeze-thaw activity before the first wave hits, which turns the grapes into mush. But waiting long enough will often bring the colligative conditions needed for the hard freeze, which is typically about seven degrees of frost Celsius or Kelvin. Botrytis and other fungal infections can be in part avoided in part by hygiene and choice of drier site away from sources of moisture, and, indeed, the best terroirs are unnecessary in the making of Eiswein.
The loss of yields of Eiswein can be compensated for economically by more production of selected late-harvest wines, that in my book are preferable to Eiswein in terms of sheer pleasure, quality, and site typicity. Eiswein is a pleasant specialty, but the loss if it would not be the worst harm that warming climate could do to the German wine industry. In the short term the limited amounts of typical Kabinett wines already are to me a much more serious problem.
Warmer climate may enhance the amounts of high-quality dry wines made in Germany. It may also change the pattern of vineyard classification, and indeed has already caused some sites in high esteem to be less sought after by some, and some sites in less esteem to show unexpected positive qualities.
However, if the Earth suffers the medium-to-high-end warming of the range that is predicted, the loss of fine wines will be among the least of humanity's long-term problems.
John Trombley
|
|
Register on decanter.com absolutely free for news alerts delivered direct to your email inbox, and our fortnightly newsletter with advance notice of what’s coming up in Decanter magazine, offers, competitions and more.
PLUS registration is a one-stop shop for the Decanter magazine Archive and Decanter Fine Wine Tracker. |
Search for similar news stories
Back to index
|
