As the grape harvest season moves forward on Santorini, a beloved destination in Greece, winemaker Yiannis Paraskevopoulos is facing a daunting outlook. The local Assyrtiko grape, a cornerstone of the island’s renowned premium white wines, is under serious threat from rising temperatures. Paraskevopoulos’ Gaia wines have suffered a sharp decline, producing just a third of his 2022 output last year, with this year’s forecast dropping to just a sixth.
“2024 has been a year of unprecedented extremes,” Yiannis shared with CNBC on a call. The future of Assyrtiko grapes looks grim, with projections suggesting they could be extinct by 2040, an estimate that now seems overly optimistic, according to the latest data from Gaia Wines.
Global impact on wine production
The decline of the Assyrtiko grape mirrors a global trend. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has reported a 10% decline in global wine production to 237.3 million hectoliters in 2023, marking the lowest production in more than six decades due to adverse weather conditions.
In response, the European Union launched a special wine policy group last month to address the sector’s challenges and explore future opportunities. The OIV notes significant production declines across southern Europe, with Greece’s output down by more than a third and Italy and Spain both suffering reductions of more than twenty percent due to a combination of heavy rains, drought and early frosts that are affecting not only current harvests but also future yields.
Adapting to climate change
In Tuscany, Italy, the historic Castello di Volpaia winery echoes these concerns. “Climate change is drastically affecting both the quantity and quality of our wine,” Marco Fizialetti, sales manager at Castello di Querceto, commented in an email. Rising costs and difficult production conditions have led to a rise in wine prices, causing consumption to decline 2.6% in 2023, reaching the lowest level since 1996, as reported by the OIV.
In response, some European wineries are modifying their farming methods to cope with climate change. The Antinori estate in Chianti Classico, for example, has reoriented its vineyards and employed new techniques such as higher trellises and intercropped grass to improve vine health and air circulation, which has been necessary to maintain quality despite reduced yields.
Emerging challenges and hopes for adaptation
Meanwhile, other vineyards are taking proactive measures amid an early and challenging growing season. For example, Domaine Skouras in Nemea, Greece, started harvest a record 20 days early this year. “The warmer winter and the resulting early rise in temperatures have had a significant impact on our production,” Dimitris Skouras said.
As regions like Santorini continue to struggle with the twin pressures of climate change and rising tourism, which diverts attention and resources from traditional agriculture to service-based industries, Europe’s wine industry is at a critical juncture. Upcoming EU policy meetings aim to chart paths that will mitigate risks and support livelihoods dependent on viticulture.
With around three million people employed in the sector within the EU and contributing around €130 billion to its GDP, the stakes are undeniably high. “The projected extinction of Assyrtiko is a looming reality unless significant interventions are made,” concluded Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, stressing the urgency of timely and effective policy action.
