Developments in winemaking to respond to global warming and market expectations

By Fabienne Remize, DR-INRAe.

Fabienne Remize is an engineer from Polytech Montpellier in agri-food and holds a doctorate from the University of Montpellier. She is a university professor in Réunion and is currently seconded as director of research at INRAe. Since 2021, she has been head of the UMR Sciences Pour l'Œnologie (University of Montpellier, INRAe, Institut Agro). She is a specialist in wine microorganisms.  

The climatic changes observed over the past 40 years have led to marked changes in all phenological stages of the vine, which are occurring earlier and earlier. One major consequence is that the harvest now begins in the middle of summer, when temperatures are high, leading to higher sugar content in the berries and lower acidity. As a result, the alcohol content of wines has increased by almost one degree every decade in all French regions. Another strong trend is in the wine market: consumption has been declining since the 1960s and has now reached an all-time low in France, with a 50% decrease. Health concerns play a role in this trend: consumers want wines that are lighter in alcohol and with fewer inputs at all stages of production. Winemaking practices can partially address these issues, particularly by working on the choice of suitable yeasts.

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