WINETECH Technical Yearbook 2020

Climate change, increased seasonal varia­ bility and limitation of available water resources, have increased pressure on the production of table wines, and could continue without effective adaptive strategies. The question is how exactly is climate in the Western Cape changing, how do grape­ vines respond and how can producers adapt? To shed light on these questions, Winetech funded a PhD study by Dr Tara Southey which integrated remote sensing, climate and grapevine responses over six localities and four years. The study included extreme climatic conditions by selecting sites over a climatic band, and multiple factor analysis was used to evaluate the interaction of climate with grapevine expression to isolate possible driving factors that can be used in future climatic modelling. Results from the study indicated that the grapevine is responding to climate change through altered phenology, growth and ripening responses. Despite differences on vineyard and site level, the grapevine’s performance is affected by environmental parameters. Integrating these multiple environmental factors into site selection models in the near future for the Western Cape study area, would allow for informed decision making regarding site suitability within the context of climate change.

Responding to climate change

MARCH 2020

TARA SOUTHEY: Centre for Geographical Analysis, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch KEYWORDS: Climate change, Terraclim

WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2020 16