How Winemakers Keep Wine Good When The Weather Gets Bad
Table of Contents
What Is Going On?
The earth is getting hot. This is bad for wine. When it is hot, the grapes get too ripe too fast. This makes wine that has too much sugar and alcohol. It also can make wine that does not taste good.
Wine makers need to fix this. They use smart ways to make good wine even when the weather is hot.
Big Problems in the Wine Cellar
When the weather gets hot, wine makers face these big problems:
- Grapes get ripe too fast
- Wine gets too much alcohol
- Not enough acid in the wine
- Bad smells from smoke near the vines
- Hard to make wine the same each year
Let’s look at how they fix these big problems.
Smart New Ways to Make Wine
Wine makers use very smart tools to fix the hot weather problems. Here is what they do:
1. They Control How Hot the Wine Gets
Wine needs to be just the right hot or cold to make it good. When grapes come in too hot and sweet, wine makers must be very smart about this.
The best wine places now use smart tanks that can make the wine colder or warmer just when needed. This helps keep the good smells in the wine.
Did you know? Smart tanks at big wine places like Château Margaux use 40% less power than old tanks. This is good for the earth and saves money too.
2. They Pick the Right Tiny Bugs to Make Wine
Wine needs tiny bugs called yeast to turn grape juice into wine. When it is hot, some yeast bugs don’t work well.
Smart wine makers now pick special yeast that can work even when it’s hot. This helps them make good wine even in very hot years.
A wine place in Burgundy had a very hot year in 2023. They used special yeast and 98% of their wine came out good! That is much better than before.
3. They Take Bad Smoke Smells Out of Wine
When there are fires near grape farms, the smoke can make wine taste like an ashtray. No one wants that!
Wine makers use a tool called nanofiltration that can take out the bad smoke taste. This saved more than $220 million of grapes in Australia after the big fires in 2020.
Many wine places now have custom ice buckets to help cool wine fast when it gets too hot during the making time.
Old Ways Made New Again
Wine makers are also taking old ways to make wine and making them work better for hot weather.
1. They Fix the Sour Taste
When grapes get too ripe, they lose their nice sour taste. Wine needs some sour to taste good.
Wine makers add a thing called tartaric acid to the wine at just the right time. Wine places in Napa Valley say this makes 30% fewer problems with bad smells in their wine.
2. They Take Out Some Alcohol
When grapes get very ripe, they make wine with too much alcohol. This can make wine taste too hot in your mouth.
A tool called reverse osmosis can take out some alcohol. About 68% of California wine places use this tool to take alcohol from 15-16% down to about 13.5%. This makes the wine taste more good.
3. They Use Less New Wood
New wood barrels use a lot of water and trees. They also can make wine taste too much like wood when the wine is already very strong from hot weather.
Now, 45% of wine makers in Spain use small wood chips instead of big barrels. This uses 55% less water and power to make the same tasty wine.
Smart Use of Numbers and Computers
Wine makers now use computers and math to help make better wine in hot times.
1. They Watch Everything All The Time
New wine places have small tools that watch the wine all the time. These tools tell the wine maker if the wine is getting too hot or if the tiny yeast bugs are not happy.
With these tools, wine makers can fix small problems before they get big. This helps make wine more the same each year.
2. They Know When to Pick Grapes
Knowing just when to pick grapes is very hard. If you pick too soon, the wine tastes too sour. If you pick too late, it has too much alcohol.
Smart wine makers use math models that look at weather, grape tests, and past years to know just when to pick. This helps them get grapes that can make good wine even in hot years.
3. They Use Tiny Life Science
Some wine makers now look at the DNA of yeast and other tiny bugs that help make wine. They pick just the right mix of these tiny bugs for each batch of wine.
This is like having a special team of tiny helpers for each wine. The helpers are picked just for the problems that the hot weather might cause.
Being Good to the Earth in the Wine Cellar
Wine makers are also finding ways to use less water and power. This helps the earth and saves money.
1. Sun Power for Cold Wine
Many wine places now use sun power to run the cold machines that keep wine cool. This is good because the sun is strongest on the hot days when you need the most cold.
2. Water Use Again and Again
In places that don’t get much rain, wine makers have smart systems to use water more than once. They might use the same water to clean tanks, then to water plants outside.
3. Lighter Bottles and Boxes
Wine is heavy to send around the world. Now, wine makers use lighter bottles or even bags to hold wine. This means less fuel to move the wine to stores.
Many wine bars now need wine buckets that keep bottles cool for longer with less ice, saving both water and energy.
Real Stories of Wine Places Doing Good Things
Here are some real wine places that are fixing hot weather problems:
1. Napa Valley Smoke Team
After bad fires in 2017, wine makers in Napa made a team to help each other test for smoke in wine. They share tools and ideas to fix smoke problems.
2. Australia’s Hot Weather Win
Wine places in Australia have been dealing with hot weather for many years. They now help teach wine makers in other places how to make good wine when it’s very hot.
They use a mix of picking grapes at night when it’s cool, using special yeasts, and new ways to keep juice cold. Their wine is still very good even in the hottest years.
3. Spain’s Water Saving
Wine makers in Spain have found ways to use 60% less water than they did 20 years ago. They still make the same amount of wine, but they are much more smart about water.
For bars and restaurants serving these climate-adapted wines, custom bar coasters can educate customers about new sustainable winemaking practices.
Working Together for Better Wine
Wine makers know that hot weather is a big problem for everyone. They are working together in new ways to fix it.
1. Sharing What Works
Groups like the OIV (a big wine science group) now have special teams just for hot weather problems. These teams help share good ideas fast.
2. Teaching New Wine Makers
Schools that teach people to make wine now spend much more time on hot weather problems. New wine makers learn the newest ways to fix these problems.
3. Special Marks for Good Work
Some places now give special marks to wine made in ways that are good for the earth. This helps people who buy wine know which ones are made in good ways.
What This Means For Wine Lovers
All these changes mean that wine will keep tasting good even as the earth gets hotter. But the wine might be a little different than before:
- Wine might have a bit less alcohol than before
- Some wine might come in boxes or bags, not just bottles
- The kinds of grapes used might change in some places
- Wine might cost a bit more because some of these new ways cost more
Main Things to Remember
Wine makers are very smart about fixing hot weather problems. Here are the big things they do:
- Control temperature very carefully when making wine
- Pick the right tiny bugs to help make the wine
- Use tools like nanofiltration to take out bad tastes
- Add back acid that hot grapes lose
- Take out some alcohol when there’s too much
- Use less new wood barrels
- Watch everything with computer tools
- Use the sun to make power for cold machines
- Save water by using it more than once
- Work together to share good ideas
Table of Smart Wine Making Tools
| Tool | What It Does | How Much It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Reverse Osmosis | Takes out some alcohol | 68% of California wine places use it |
| Special Yeast | Works when it’s hot | Made 98% good wine in very hot year |
| Nanofiltration | Takes out smoke taste | Saved $220M+ of wine in Australia |
| Smart Tanks | Keep wine just right hot or cold | Use 40% less power than old tanks |
| Acid Adding | Makes wine taste fresh | 30% fewer bad smell problems |
| Wood Chips | Give wood taste without barrels | Use 55% less water and power |
Wine makers will keep finding new ways to make good wine as the world gets hotter. With these smart tools and by working together, your wine will still taste good even when the weather is bad for grapes.
For wine enthusiasts looking to properly store and present these climate-adapted wines, a custom champagne bucket can help maintain the precise serving temperature these wines require.
