Wines best served warmed

The recent bush fires in Australia and the consequent loss of life and property caused by soaring temperatures (and, regrettably, a few disaffected citizens) are truly horrific. The vineyards in Victoria and southern Australia have also been affected by the extreme heat and prolonged drought. What hope, then, for the future of their wines and those in the classic wine-growing regions as the world’s temperature rises?

I am certainly not a climatologist, but I was a 'vigneron' for nearly 15 years in Bordeaux and observed the effects of climate change on the vineyards over a longish period - most of which, it must be said, were actually positive rather than negative.

Bordeaux, like all the best wine-growing areas, has a marginal climate for growing its classic grape varieties - Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. That means a long growing season with just enough sun and ambient temperatures to ripen the grapes in a normal year (in a bad year the grapes do not ripen properly, so the wines are thin and lack fruit).

During my time there (1990 to 2005), rising temperatures brought the harvest forward by about three weeks on average, and the grapes were riper by almost a full degree in sugar (and in resulting alcohol content). The incidence of bad years fell to almost nothing and the good years were even better (2000, 2003, 2005). In part, this was due to improved technology and better viticultural practices, but much was due to the warmer climate.

So what of the future? Unless there is a dramatic change in the climate, the effect on the wine-growing areas will continue to be positive, in our lifetimes at least. Even in Australia - where 95 per cent of the land has always been arid desert - the climate is not necessarily harming their vineyards as better and better wines are being produced.

Will England become a fine wine-growing region, then? I doubt it. The weather in the last few weeks has, I suspect, put many aspiring English vignerons off, and if the Gulf Stream moves away, we're more likely to see polar bears than an English version of Chateau Latour! ·