For years, scientists have been studying the impacts climate change is having on the wine industry.
“Making wine and growing grapes... you are definitely intertwined within a relationship with Mother Nature,” said Lucas Reed, the general manager at Javelina Leap Vineyard and Winery.
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Destructive fires, floods, frost, and extreme heat are altering the nature of wine production around the world.
“Arizona is one of the oldest wine-growing regions in North America,” said Reed.
The billion-dollar industry has skyrocketed in Arizona over the past decade.
“When we opened our doors in 2004, we were one of eight wineries and now there are 125+,” said Luke Bernard, the assistant general manager at Page Springs Cellars.
The reason for the boom is Arizona’s soil and climate.
“It’s very similar to Spain. Up here it’s dry and it's arid,” explained Reed.
Farming in the desert comes with a set of challenges.
“When you are a winemaker, we have to know what we are doing, we have to be on (our) feet and we have to be monitoring the grapes,” said Ron Brumley, the vineyard manager at Alcantara.
Each vineyard, winery, and farm deals with the Arizona weather extremes in their own way. At Javelina Leap, the changes in weather patterns over the years haven’t been a problem.
“We are getting a record harvest and yielding quality with the grapes and a lot has to do with the wonderful winter we had,” said Reed.
The wet winter made this dry summer easier to manage.
“This year we touched 113º for the first time ever. The grape vines are a different kind of crop because they are very hardy and can handle the heat,” said Reed.
Down the canyon to Alcantara, they have had a bit of trial and error with vines over the years.
“If we put the wrong varietal in here and it is too hot... year after year after year that vine may not survive. It can get too hot for grapes. And that is what we have found with a few things we have planted over the years. It had to be the heat,” said Brumley.
But what saves their grapes is how much the temperatures drop at night.
“It’s called diurnal shift. It is the hottest part of the day and the coolest part of the day and how much it drops, and that is how sugar is brought and is built in the grape,” explained Brumley.
At Page Springs Cellars, their number one weather issue is not what you would expect — it's springtime frost.
“What happens is our vines think it’s ready to emerge they come out and then this cold front comes through, and spring frost will wipe out our year production,” said Bernard.
It hasn’t been a problem for Page Springs Cellars the past few years thanks to the warmer-than-normal temperatures.
When it comes to Arizona’s drought and water crisis, they are not an issue for these winemakers.
“There is a reason grape vines have been cultivated for 6,000 years they are relatively easy to grow and they don’t take a ton of water,” said Reed.
Climate change poses a threat to the industry that winemakers in Arizona are not feeling yet, but they know they will have to adapt as time goes on.
“Here we think we have the right grapes that will survive two or three or four degrees warm-up but at five, six or seven degrees, yeah, no I don’t think so. But if the world does that, we have bigger problems,” said Brumley.
For now, Arizona is still crushing it one grape at a time to produce some of the world's best wine.
