Climate change will improve wine quality. However, there’s no reason to celebrate.

A team of researchers from the University of Oxford believes that higher temperatures and increased rainfall will enhance the quality and flavor of wine. However, for various reasons, they don’t see much cause for celebration.

What Scientists Discovered

The researchers concluded that global warming and the anticipated rise in precipitation will likely lead to the production of better wines.

The team analyzed wine critics’ ratings from the Bordeaux region of France between 1950 and 2020, correlating the reviews with the weather conditions during each specific vintage year.

They focused on this region because Bordeaux winemakers place significant importance on rainfall for irrigation. Additionally, this area is known for producing benchmark wines that are evaluated by the most discerning critics.

Overall, the scientists found that the quality of Bordeaux wines has shown a trend of improvement over the studied period. The climate in the region has warmed during these years, as reported by the Independent.

The study’s results also indicated that higher-quality wines were produced in years with the highest temperatures, increased winter precipitation, and shorter, earlier growing seasons. Such conditions are expected to become more common with climate change.

Why This Good News Doesn’t Excite Scientists

Lead author Andrew Wood noted that “the impact of temperature and precipitation occurs throughout the year—during bud break, grape growth and ripening, harvest, and even in winter when the plants are dormant.” He also mentioned that high-quality wines are produced in cooler, wetter winters, warmer, wetter springs, hot and dry summers, and cool, dry autumns.

The researcher also pointed out a general trend currently observed worldwide: as temperatures continue to rise, wines are becoming stronger. Feedback from wine critics and the public suggests that “people generally prefer stronger wines that are aged longer and have richer, more intense flavors, higher sweetness, and lower acidity.”

Thus, as the climate continues to change, the quality of Bordeaux wines is expected to improve further. The scientists also suggested that their findings could be applicable to other wine-producing regions.

However, according to Andrew Wood, this improvement process will continue only up to a certain point. The issue is that when it becomes excessively hot, the grapevines will face water shortages and may die. At that point, the production of wine would be out of the question.

In other words, the reason for celebration is relative. Wine will become better, but only as long as the grapevines remain alive.

The results of the study were published in the journal iScience.