Climate Change: A New Challenge for the Winemaking Sector
Hélder Fraga
Abstract
Viticulture and winemaking have a strong socio-economic importance worldwide. Weather and climate represent key forcing factors for grapevine development, yields, and quality. Hence, climate change is expected to pose a strong impact on this crop, threatening the sustainability of the winemaking sector. Recent-past trends show noticeable warming in the grapevine growing season, as well as changes in the precipitation patterns in many renowned winemaking regions worldwide. Furthermore, climate projections point to enhanced stress conditions for grapevine growth under future scenarios. The strong evidence for a significant warming and drying in the upcoming decades urges adaptation measures to be taken by the winemaking sector. The aim of this editorial is to provide an updated overview of the adaptation measures that can be used by sector stakeholders to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. A recent review article, which highlights several adaptation strategies to ensure the future sustainability of this important sector, is hereby analyzed.