[LUM#23] Dry-farmed vineyards

[LUM Magazine] - Published on May 7, 2026 in Science and Society

Struggling vineyards, a market losing confidence… The wine industry is facing a crisis that makes it particularly vulnerable to climate change. In the face of this situation, there is only one solution: adaptation. Economist Jean-Marc Touzard from the Innovation Research Unit explains.

By late August 2025, schoolchildren haven’t even had a chance to break in their new backpacks, yet the sound of pruning shears is already echoing through the vineyards. Harvesters are hard at work
at the foot of the vines from dawn onward, to escape the still-intense heat. “Today, the harvest begins three weeks earlier than it did in the 1980s,” explains Jean-Marc Touzard, a researcher at the Innovation Research Unit. The cause, unsurprisingly, is global warming. “Rising temperatures affect the plant’s physiology; buds burst open earlier and the fruit ripens faster, ” explains the wine industry specialist.

And this is far from the only impact of climate change on vineyards, which are also suffering from recurring droughts: “A water deficit leads to smaller grapes, which reduces yields, ” explains the co-author of the book *Vines, Wine, and Climate Change*. At 36 million hectoliters, wine production in 2025 will have been the lowest in France in over a century.

Wines with higher alcohol content

While wine production is declining, its quality is also changing. “The grapes, which are smaller due to a lack of water, also have a higher sugar concentration, which means the wine will have a higher alcohol content, ” explains Jean-Marc Touzard. The alcohol content of wines, which averaged 11.5% in the 1980s, has been steadily rising, exceeding 14% for several years now for red wines from the Languedoc region (France Bleu, June 8, 2025).

These wines are more robust and also exhibit a different aromatic profile. “Temperature affects the biochemical composition of the grape, altering the balance between ethanol, acids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, and aroma precursors, ” explains the researcher. Once bottled, this mix produces wines with more concentrated aromas, with reds expressing notes of cooked fruit, jam, or spices. “This isn’t a bad quality in itself, but it’s a style of wine that doesn’t align with changing consumer demand, ” analyzes Jean Marc Touzard.

Socio-economic crisis

This presents yet another challenge for the wine industry, which is already in the midst of a market crisis and facing a sharp decline in wine consumption, particularly of red wine (Les Échos, April 16, 2025). “If we add rising costs and export difficulties—particularly due to Trump’s tariffs—we have a full-blown socio-professional crisis in the wine industry, ” warns the director of the innovation lab.

To make matters worse, global warming is triggering a series of increasingly frequent extreme weather events: torrential rains that wash away topsoil, hail that ruins crops, heat waves that scorch the most exposed vineyards, and wildfires that destroy vineyard landscapes and can wipe out an entire operation… All these factors are weakening an industry that is already struggling.

“The socioeconomic impact of these cumulative crises is clearly evident, and winegrowers are already seeing a decline in their incomes. But beyond that, it is their very professional identity that is being called into question,” explains Jean-Marc Touzard, who has been working for years with all stakeholders in the wine industry.

Adaptation strategies

The researcher and his colleagues are leveraging their in-depth knowledge of the sector to identify adaptation strategies through a participatory approach. First and foremost: changing grape varieties. “Some are more drought-tolerant and ripen later, while others produce less sugar and retain acidity better. Diversifying grape varieties reduces vulnerability, and some winemakers are already experimenting with this.”

Winemakers are also being encouraged to change their vineyard practices, for example by adopting pruning methods that better protect the grapes from the sun or by improving soil management through the addition of organic matter. “We even need to consider a spatial reorganization, by planting vines on different soils—less exposed to the sun, at higher altitudes—or by creating new vineyards further north, in Brittany for example, which, according to our simulations, could become a new wine-growing region by the end of the century,” adds Jean-Marc Touzard (France Bleu, September 30, 2024).

Stabilize the climate

Winemaking techniques offer another way to mitigate the effects of
climate change, for example by reducing the alcohol content of wines. “A process limited
by consumer acceptance, as some may feel that the wine is being denatured
, but demand for ‘nolow’ wines—with little or no alcohol—is rising sharply
” ( Reporterre, 03/11/2025), notes the researcher, who points to another path: institutional changes. “Modifying appellation specifications, improving risk and crisis management, creating new narratives and connections with consumers. There are many avenues to explore. Adapting isn’t just about working on these different levers; we need to build strategies together that combine them, with different approaches depending on the region,” insists Jean-Marc Touzard.