Due to climate change, experts are recommending a switch to more heat-resistant grape varieties for the entire southern Mediterranean region. But what does this mean for a growing region like Tuscany, which is characterised by traditional varieties? Markus Blaser talked about this with the agronomist Paolo Storchi. He does research at the CREA Institute for Viticulture and Enology in Arezzo and is a member of Florence's GeorgofiliAgricultural Academy.Will winegrowers in the southern Mediterranean soon have to plant heat-resistant grape varieties because of climate change?
Storchi: The grape varieties of the southern Mediterranean are quite heat-tolerant, and a little further north, viticulture is suffering more from climate change. But in addition to the rise in temperature, we are registering a different distribution of precipitation compared to the past. Therefore, agriculture is shifting to higher or more northerly areas where temperatures are somewhat cooler. The grape varieties of the south will migrate to the north.