Adaptations to climate change - viticulture

There are winemakers across NSW who have already implemented some climate adaptation strategies, as hotter weather in recent years has demanded changes to production methods.

Night harvesting is a production technique which is now widely used in some areas to produce a fresher, fruitier and crisper grape and to ensure that the grapes arrive at the winery as fresh as possible.

Some other climate adaptations already used include:

• planting grape vines in a specific row direction in relation to the sun, and in closer rows
• the use of cover crops to shelter the grapevines to reduce vineyard temperatures. Cover crops can also improve soil structure and water penetration.
• changes to canopy structures. The way vines are hung on foliage wires can expose or shade vines from the weather.
• changed nutrition programs to increase foliage, for example the use of mulch to retain moisture and provide additional nutrients
• managing post harvest growth.

Other future adaptations can include selecting drought and salinity tolerant rootstock material.