Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/M021599/1
Mitigating present and future climate risks to winemaking
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor IMD Maclean, University of Exeter, Biosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr RJ Wilson, National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museum of Natural Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Exeter, Biosciences
- Science Area:
- Earth
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Agricultural systems
- Bioclimatology
- Climate change
- Environmental modelling
- Earth & environmental
- Climate variability
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- Climatic changes and advances in wine production techniques have aided a rapid increase in the production of high quality sparkling wines in the UK. In the 1970s, the northern limits of commercial wine growing did not extend to the UK, but there are now 470 commercial vineyards in the UK, with over 100 established in SW England. In 2004, the majority of awards for sparkling wines in Europe were awarded to English wines and the rapid growth in the production of high-quality wine seems set to continue. However, grapevine-growing in marginal climates is especially susceptible to variation in weather and the success and quality of wine is much affected by local climatic conditions. This, coupled with the fact the UK winemaking sector is mostly made-up of small enterprises with high variation in relevant skills and experience, means that there is a clear need to map climatic suitability and quantify the risks of unfavourable weather events occurring at high spatial resolutions both now and under near-future climate change. As part of NERC-funded and related research activities the project team has developed a series of state-of-the-art high-resolution climate models that can be used to estimate climatic conditions at hourly intervals at spatial scales down to one metre, which when coupled with the latest down-scaled climate models, can be also be used to assess the likelihood of key climatic conditions occurring in the future. The great attraction of this approach is that the model outputs can be used to calculate the aspects of climate that are actually meaningful for the success of wine at the scale of individual fields within vineyards. Examples include the risk of frost damage after spring budbreak, the likelihood of suitably warm and dry conditions during flowering and berry set, or the probabilities of exposure to unfavourably high rainfall during harvest. Our project partners are (1) the nationally and internationally recognized body representing the wine industry in South West England (the South West Vineyard Association), (2) a world-leading vineyard consultant (Smart Viticulture), (3) several individual vineyards based in the South West of England (Camel Valley, Polgoon, Torview Wines Ltd), and (4) a body with core strategic responsibility for developing food and land-based industries regionally (the Cornwall Agri-food Council). We will work with our partners to determine exactly which weather and climatic events most affect the success of grapevine growing. The climate models will then be used to generate high resolution maps, quantifying local climatic suitability and the likelihood of adverse conditions occurring across South West England both now and under future climate scenarios. We will work with our partners to hone and develop the outputs of our models so that they are useful, practical tools that can be used easily by vineyard managers and future investors. We will ensure the tools are made available to the UK wine industry, particularly those in the south-west, and will work with our partners to increase uptake and application of the tool. Key words: climate risk, weather, grapevine growing, high-quality sparkling wine, microclimate, mesoclimate, viticulture
- NERC Reference:
- NE/M021599/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Innovation
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Innovation Projects
This grant award has a total value of £99,556
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DA - Other Directly Allocated | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £9,790 | £29,927 | £6,467 | £36,845 | £12,166 | £1,539 | £2,823 |
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