Winemaker Wilhelm ("Willi") Bründlmayer from Langenlois (Kamptal) is regarded as a pioneer in the Austrian wine industry. He warned 25 years ago that climate change could significantly alter the grape varieties. Alexander Lupersböck spoke to him about Cabernet Franc, agrivoltaics and aesthetics.
How did you come to the conclusion at the time that climate change could alter the grape variety mix in Austria? What has materialised in the meantime?
Willi Bründlmayer: In the late 1980s, I received a climate forecast for Langenlois by chance from an American climate researcher that looked 20 years into the future. The result: the average temperature would rise by one degree Celsius. Precipitation would be slightly higher overall, but more unevenly distributed. These predictions have come true. Through my colleagues at the Acádemie Internationale du Vin, I was able to share their experiences. Wineries in Italy, Spain and California realised all of this much earlier than we did in Austria.
How did you react to these forecasts?
Willi Bründlmayer: We started planting late-maturing vines that are more resistant to heat and react better to drought stress. At the hottest point, at the foot of the Heiligenstein slope in the Kamptal, we planted a trial site. From Merlot to Nebbiolo, we have observed many grape varieties. Cabernet Franc proved to be the most promising. And: sugaring is definitely a thing of the past.
How do you work in the hottest plots?
Willi Bründlmayer: The Kamptal used to be on the wine-growing frontier, so it was very cool. In many years, the wines were considered too acidic. Today we are in a very pleasant climate zone for viticulture, it is moderately cool and we can harvest our main varieties Grüner Veltliner and Riesling at the optimum ripening period. However, we have uprooted the earlier varieties such as Müller-Thurgau and Frühroter Veltliner. In the late-ripening vineyards such as Steinberg, we now have Riesling, Grüner Veltliner for light wines and Chardonnay for sparkling base wines, but also for still wines. These grapes ripen four to five weeks after the sparkling base wine. We have planted one hectare of Cabernet Franc in the hottest parcel on the Heiligenstein.
Biodiversity in the vineyard is not limited to plants and insects
Bruendlmayer WineryWhich white grape varieties could still be interesting?
Willi Bründlmayer: I am focussing very strongly on Grüner Veltliner, because of its thick skin and robustness it continues to fit in very well here. But we are also looking at Piwi varieties. For an organic winery, this has almost become mandatory.
Aren't the available piwi varieties ripening too early and suffering from the heat?
Willi Bründlmayer: We are working with the research centre in Klosterneuburg and the vine grower Ferdinand Regner to provide him with data. It would be tempting to simply plant Welschriesling, because it is stress-tolerant and can withstand heat. But we are in the heartland of Riesling here, so I don't want to give it up so easily. I find the Piwi varieties Donauriesling and Donauveltliner exciting, they retain the acidity. I can well imagine a certain proportion of Piwis as cuvée partners for Kamptal DAC area wines. In any case, we want to motivate research to develop even more robust, later-ripening varieties.
Is it generally getting drier or wetter?
Willi Bründlmayer: Basically, we are getting a little more precipitation, albeit often in compressed form as heavy rain. We use the data from the official measuring station, which is located in the centre of the wine-growing region and dates back to 1965. Anyone can view the temperature and precipitation trends for themselves on our website.
How does this affect disease pressure?
Willi Bründlmayer: As an organic farm, you have to treat relatively often. The vines become more robust against diseases, but the pathogens and pests also continue to develop and become more resistant. It's an eternal match. Our luck in the Kamptal is that there is always some wind and it dries out quickly. That's why the density of organic farms here is quite high.
What else can winegrowers do? Higher altitudes, other varieties, shading?
Willi Bründlmayer: The adjustments we have made so far are: Replace early varieties with late ones. Greening all vineyards. Protect and cool the soil with mulch, humus build-up and vegetation. So far, we have managed to obtain even lighter Grüner Veltliners with cover crop and foliage work such as the Lyre and its canopy. Harvest time is now two to three weeks earlier. In other vineyards, I advocate agrivoltaics, which is one of my favourite projects.
Why is that?
Willi Bründlmayer: These are movable solar panels above the vines. Normally, energy is not needed when it is available. But the energy requirements of the people and the vines complement each other perfectly. When we don't need energy for heating or cooling, the vines need the light and warmth. So we turn the panels away. When we need cooling for air conditioning systems, tanks and electric cars, the panels stand horizontally and protect the vineyard from the intense sunlight. As an additional benefit, they generate energy and also make it more pleasant for the employees. This also makes the winegrower a little more important again - he influences the microclimate of the vineyards.
This fundamentally changes the character of the vineyards.
Willi Bründlmayer: Aesthetics change over the course of time. Perhaps not everyone found windmills beautiful back then. In any case, we should no longer generate our energy with fossil fuels and send money to autocratic regimes that want to undermine our democracy. We should get back - using modern methods - to where we were 300 years ago: That farmers can supply themselves and others with energy from their land. Just two to four per cent of Austria's agricultural land would be enough to supply the country with the energy it needs - provided the storage problem is solved.
Doesn't this change the character of the origin of the energy? In other words, will today's top sites still be the best in 50 years' time?
Willi Bründlmayer: There have also been climate changes in the past centuries, and our best sites such as Heiligenstein have been producing remarkable wines for centuries. I am convinced that if you put enough work into a good site, you will end up with a good product. The real top sites will also in the future remain top sites. But perhaps they will in the future differentiate themselves even more from the other sites.
There is a global trend away from red wines in favour of light white wines and sparkling wines - contrary to the adaptations to the climate. What conclusions do you draw from this?
Willi Bründlmayer: We have a quarter of red wine, but most of it goes into sparkling wine, of which we always have too little. Rosé is also very popular. We are in the comfortable position in the Kamptal that we can also produce good sparkling base wines here. In the higher vineyards, up to 400 metres, the Pinot varieties ripen excellently - and will probably continue to do so for a few more decades if the warming is more or less linear. This is because harvesting a week earlier makes a big difference. So we still have some time. And I'm relying on photovoltaic shading.
Where will the Bründlmayer winery be in 30 years' time?
Willi Bründlmayer: Our oldest vineyards are 100 years old, and I try to think ahead to this period. How can we deal with climate change and become more resilient? How do we match environmentally friendly cultivation to varieties that produce good wine? What would happen if the Gulf Stream collapsed? Then it would get much colder here and we would need early-maturing varieties again. The genetic potential of these grape varieties should therefore continue to be cultivated, just like the genetic diversity of Grüner Veltliner. If people remain mentally flexible, they will come up with solutions - as they did in the past. I trust that future generations will preserve the cultural heritage of wine. I am very open to technical developments.