Past two decades, thanks to a heating climate, a small town in Japan grew a thriving pino noir enterprise. Now farmers fear that even warmer temperatures and more increasing rain is threatening their future. WATCH Climate Change Hits Wine Industry, Excess Rains Affect Grape Production, News9 Oct 13 2025 report Transcript follows
Climate change has helped make the small 0:02 Japanese town of Hoi to toast of Pino 0:06 noir with gradually warming 0:08 temperatures encouraging locals to try 0:10 their hand at the delicate grape variety 0:13 over the past two decades. But now 0:15 farmers fear that recent rapid gains in 0:18 temperatures and potentially more rain 0:21 could mean that it may become difficult 0:24 to grow the precious grape. 0:28 For the past two decades, climate change 0:30 has helped make a small town in Japan 0:32 the toast of pino noir connoisseurs. 0:37 With warming temperatures, locals of 0:39 Yoichi on the country's northernmost 0:41 island of Hokkaido were encouraged to 0:43 try their hand at making wine with a 0:45 delicate grape variety. 0:49 But now, farmers fear that even warmer 0:52 temperatures and potentially more rain 0:54 could threaten their future. 0:57 As summer heat persisted in Yoichi in 0:59 September, Uichi Hiatsu, an 1:02 award-winning vineyard owner, said his 1:04 pon noir grapes had suffered from rain 1:07 damage. 1:11 If we get heavy rain right before the 1:13 harvest, the grapes will crack and 1:15 become more prone to disease. As global 1:17 warming progresses, wine grapes start 1:19 getting different diseases such as 1:20 downey mildew along with all sorts of 1:23 other issues. Pests also become more of 1:25 a problem as well. 1:29 He also grows grape varieties suited to 1:32 Akaida's mild climate, but they too were 1:35 hard hit by a particularly heavy 1:37 downpour in September. Something Hi 1:39 Roatzu says he hasn't seen before at the 1:42 start of the fall season. Known for 1:44 producing elegant wines, Pino Noir 1:46 grapes can thrive in cool to warm 1:49 temperate climates. But its thin skin 1:51 and tight clusters make it extremely 1:54 sensitive even to slightly too much sun 1:56 or rain. 1:59 This year, Yoichi had its hottest summer 2:01 since recordeping began with average 2:05 temperatures of almost 72° Fahrenheit 2:08 between June and August. That's more 2:10 than 5° higher than the average for the 2:13 three decades to 2020. Warmer and longer 2:16 summer seasons increase the chances that 2:18 pon noir grapes could ripen too quickly, 2:21 leading to undesiraably high sugar and 2:23 low acid levels. Higher temperatures 2:25 also make the fruit more prone to damage 2:27 from rain. 2:32 It's been almost 30 years since I 2:34 started growing grapes, and it is indeed 2:37 that summers are much hotter now than 2:39 they were back then, and the nights feel 2:41 warmer, too. 2:47 Yoi burst into the viticultural 2:49 limelight 5 years ago when a wine from 2:52 the local domain Takahiko Winery was 2:54 featured on the menu of Copenhagen's 2:56 globally acclaimed Nama restaurant. A 2:59 bottle of that priced wine which once 3:01 sold for around $30 is now offered by 3:04 resellers in Japan for about $560. 3:08 Takahiko Soga, owner of Domain Takahiko, 3:11 said continued climate change could mean 3:13 pon noir has to be swapped for more heat 3:15 friendly grapes. 3:18 As global warming progresses, we've been 3:19 trying out different varieties such as 3:21 Sarra, Merllo, and others by planting 3:23 just a few vines of each for now to see 3:25 how things might develop. We're testing 3:27 things in our own way to figure out 3:28 where we are heading in the future.
***
NEWS9 is India's leading English News Channel.
No comments:
Post a Comment