1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren Vogebam Here could global climate change 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: put an end to the centuries old French wine industry? 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: Effects on the vineyards might not be catastrophic today, but 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change suggests 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: that climate change is definitely making its mark on how 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: French wine is produced. For the article, this episode is 8 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: based on how Stuff Works. Spoke with the studies lead 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: author Benjamin Cook, a climate scientist to Columbia University's Lamont 10 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: Doherty Earth Observatory and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: He said, the wine industry is so closely connected to 12 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: what's happening with climate change. We focused on France because 13 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,560 Speaker 1: they've been making wine for centuries and have records going 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: back four hundred years about that. To really understand the study, 15 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: you have to understand a little bit about wine making 16 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 1: and so many things effect what makes a stellar wine, 17 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,960 Speaker 1: from the type of grape and the soil to the vineyards, 18 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: microclimate and elevation. This is a concept referred to as 19 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: the wines terroir in France. This idea of teteroirs and 20 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: the desire to help individual wineries really market and protect 21 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: their products, eventually led to the Appeleichandorjan Controllee system. In 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: nineteen five, it was replaced with the appeleiean Doujan protege in. 23 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: This is a French certification system that defines geographical regions 24 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: and regulates agricultural products like wine, and two of France's 25 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: most popular wine regions, Champagne and Burgundy, were named UNESCO 26 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: World Heritage Sites in As you can imagine, the climate 27 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: in each tear war varies greatly in much of France. 28 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: Harvest records have shown that the best vintages have been 29 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: those where the weather included lots of spring rain, hot summer, 30 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: and a late season drought, which forces the vines to 31 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: fruit and mature fast. Wine making is one of the 32 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: cornerstones of the French economy. One point to two billion 33 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: gallons that's four point six billion liters of wine were 34 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: produced in France, up twelve percent over under normal circumstances. 35 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: More than ten million people visit the wine regions of 36 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: France every year, so it's no surprise that the French 37 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,119 Speaker 1: people consider wine making a near sacred part of their heritage. 38 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: In the study, Cook and his co author, Elizabeth Walkovic, 39 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: an ecologist at Harvard University, analyzed climate data, reconstructions of temperature, precipitation, 40 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: and soil moisture, and vineyard records dating back to the 41 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: sixteen hundreds. Cook said, but what we found was vineyards 42 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: were harvesting on average ten days earlier, and higher quality 43 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: wines are associated with earlier harvest dates in this region, 44 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: and this connection is still holding. During the twentieth century, 45 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,799 Speaker 1: France has warmed about two point seven degrees fahrenheit that's 46 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: one point five celsius, and continues to climb up. Until 47 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties, the climate in France was too cool 48 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: to force an early harvest without the extra heat added 49 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: by a late season drought. That seems to have now changed. 50 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: Cook said, today vineyards are achieving these early harvests without 51 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: the late season drought. It's not clear what this will 52 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: mean in the long term, but it's a clear signal 53 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: of climate change. So it's not all doom and gloom 54 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: for the French wine industry by far. In fact, these 55 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: temperature changes have actually been good for many of the 56 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: French vineyards, but that might not hold true forever. Cook said, 57 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: we found evidence that there may be an upper limit 58 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: in how early grapes can be harvested. In two thousand three, 59 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: when a record heatwave hit western Europe and forced to 60 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: the earliest harvest ever in France, the wines produced should 61 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: have been of exception old quality, but they weren't. Cook explained, 62 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: it's worth noting that whether years like two thousand three 63 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: are what we expect in the coming decades with climate change, 64 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: could we one day see French vineyards start irrigating their grapes. Absolutely? 65 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: Might we one day see a Burgundy region san pinot 66 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: noir or a Bordeaux without cabernets. Possibly. Study projected that 67 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: by two thirds of today's wine regions might not have 68 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: climates suitable for the grapes that they grow now. So 69 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: could France be forced to start growing grape varieties that 70 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: are adapted to hotter, drier conditions. Cook said, I'm not 71 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 1: saying anyone should do these things specifically. What our studies 72 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: shows definitively is climate change is having an impact and 73 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: it might make it very difficult to grow grapes in 74 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: certain parts of certain regions. Today's episode is based on 75 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: the article climate change is affecting French Wines or Good 76 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: and Bad on how stuff Works dot Com, written by 77 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: Sarah Glin. Brainstuff is production of my heart Radio in 78 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: partnership with how stuff Works dot Com and is produced 79 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,839 Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit 80 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,679 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 81 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.