Aussie wine industry feeling heat

MELBOURNE - Climate change will dramatically alter growing conditions for Australia's wine industry causing a big drop in quality as well as in the production of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, a new study shows.

A University of Melbourne PhD student has charted the effect of the CSIRO's climate change projections on Australia's major grape-growing regions.

"Temperatures in most Australian wine regions are projected to increase by between .3 to 1.7 degrees C by 2030," PhD student Leanne Webb, of the University's Faculty of Land and Food Resources, said yesterday.

"Modelling the effect of this temperature increase shows that grape quality could be reduced in some regions by 12 to 57 per cent compared to current conditions."

Aside from a drop in quality, Webb said the rising temperatures would shift the grape "budburst" date, shorten the overall growing season and lead to earlier harvests.

She said climate change would also redraw the map when it came to the types of wines that each region was renowned for and cool-climate wines such as Pinot noir might be reduced.

Webb also said the industry could adapt by breeding new grape varieties that suited a warmer climate.

- AAP