Major climate reviews continue to be cited in current coverage underlines a long‑term risk that fine‑wine collectors and investors can’t ignore: if global warming exceeds 2°C (3.6°F), up to 70% of existing wine regions could face substantial risk of losing suitability for grape growing.
Decanter’s report on the study, published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, notes that researchers analyzed more than 200 scientific papers to assess how different warming scenarios would affect wine regions worldwide. They conclude that for temperature increases beyond 2°C, about 70% of current winemaking regions might experience substantial risks of suitability loss, with 29% facing climate conditions too extreme for premium wine production and the remaining 41% dependent on successful adaptation.
The study highlights that around 90% of traditional wine regions in coastal and lowland areas of Spain, Italy, Greece and southern California could be at risk of disappearing by the end of the century due to excessive drought and more frequent heatwaves. On the other hand, approximately 25% of current regions could benefit from warming capped at 2°C, and another 26% could maintain suitability with proper management, leading researchers to describe sub‑2°C warming as a “safe threshold for over half of traditional vineyards.” For anyone building long‑term fine‑wine holdings, these numbers are a reminder that regional risk profiles may change significantly within a single cellar’s lifetime.
Sources: Decanter, “Climate change could make 70% of global wine regions unsuitable for grape growing,” summarizing a study in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.
