TWO years ago the Spanish winemaker Miguel Torres told me he had abandoned plans to make wine in China as the country had no terroir suitable for viticulture. His analysis appeared to be supported by the fact that Chinese billionaires were then buying up Bordeaux estates. But climate researchers say rising temperatures will transform the viticultural landscape as we know it by 2050 and that Torres may have spoken too soon. Potential future wine regions include mountainous central China where giant pandas live. Torres’ vineyards in Catalonia will soon be inhospitable to viticulture. Winemaking is, however, accustomed to climate change.
Full article first published in The Connexion (June, 2013)
