Italian winemakers are looking to new technologies with old grape varieties to adapt to the changing climate

Massimo Tosoni is walking through his vineyards, whose rows stretch like ribbons of green in the constant sunlight. In the distance, the city of Tarquinia sits on top of a hill once ruled by the ancient Etruscans.

“Look at the rows of vineyards over there,” he said, pointing to a local red grape, Ciligiolo, known for its cherry-like aroma. “The earth is dry and hard as a stone.”

The 73-year-old man shakes his head. This is the result of very long periods of time without water, where the sun has sucked out every last drop of life, blocking reabsorption of water.

Italy’s vineyards, like much of the world, are struggling with hotter and longer summers, erratic weather and dwindling water.

These changes are forcing winemakers to rethink one of the oldest notions in their craft: terroir, the delicate interplay of soil, sun, wind, rain, and human touch that gives each wine its distinctive flavor, some might say, soul.

If global temperatures rise by more than 2 C by the end of the century, Studies suggest Up to 90 percent of Italy’s lowland and coastal wine regions – About one third of the country’s wine producing area – May become unsuitable for viticulture, with similar risks to most of the world’s vineyards.

Italy is the top global wine producerThe industry is worth $20.7 billion CDN and represents 10 percent of the country’s agri-food economy. Exports totaled a record $12 billion CDN in 2024, driven by premium and certified wines, ahead of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the EU, while producers faced climate extremes: drought in the south and hail and torrential rain in the north.

In northern Lazio, the region around Rome that produces about three percent of Italian wine, Tosoni and his daughter, Martina Tosoni, 42, who returned to farm after working in tourism in Spain, are among thousands of growers already adapting.

Their white grapes, Trebbiano, Malvasia, Vermentino and Vionner, once harvested in October, now ripen in late August.

“Last year we waited too long and a third of our crop was lost because of climate change,” Massimo said.

Shift to other varieties

Nearby growers have begun swapping out local Sangiovese and Montepulciano reds with heat-tolerant Syrah, once grown mostly on the southern island of Sicily.

Martina said that more than heat, water shortage is the biggest threat now.

“There is a huge generational leap in awareness about efficient use of water,” he said.

He and other growers have introduced irrigation cycles to prevent depletion and have upgraded their systems to reduce waste. Young producers like them may also be tech-savvy and better equipped to access government grants for irrigation and other climate challenges.

“I use an app to monitor irrigation,” she said. “I check it from my room, whereas my dad had to get up four times a night to check the filters.”

Still, an old, mostly abandoned technique of grafting local grapes onto wild vines is proving particularly resilient, her father said.

“That line of Trebbiano white grapes is as old as Martina and is doing just fine.”

looking towards the community

Martina believes that community is as important as innovation. He and local growers, who already have a cooperative for fruit, are creating an association for wine where they can plan together to strengthen marketing and vititourism, an important form of diversification in increasingly difficult conditions.

“If the leadership is as visionary as we are, it makes a big difference. We’re helping all producers adapt, not just one.”

Kimberly Nicholas, a sustainability scientist at Lund University in Sweden, has studied the connection between wine and climate change for more than two decades and says adapting to a changing climate is now top of mind for every wine producer.

“The biggest change is that everyone in the wine industry has understood and recognized that this is happening. This is not some probable future or something that will happen somewhere else,” he said.

Grapes now ripen quickly at higher temperatures, which he says “damages all the special compounds that make the most delicious wines unique.”

The result: less acid, more sugar, more alcohol – and a better taste.

New strategies in the vineyard

Some of that excess alcohol may be removed at the winery. But vineyard strategies work better: hanging shade cloth over vineyards, traditional trellising that leaves more leaves to shade the fruit, and reorienting rows in directions that minimize direct sun exposure.

Nicholas is suspicious of those who made the offer. Increasing wine production in northern countries As part of the solution.

“I don’t think this is a very good way to look at the future of viticulture,” he said. “The idea that you can pick up Napa Valley and move it to Alaska is really naive.”

Even climbing high on hills or mountains has limits.

“With climate change, the height of plants and animals is decreasing,” he said.

Some growers are using vitivoltaic solar panels that generate electricity and provide shade or are reviving some forgotten grape varieties that perform better in a warmer world.

“The majority of global wine production comes from 12 grape varieties,” Nicholls said.

“The wine industry will be helped to broaden the use of the vast untapped biological diversity and thousands of cultivated grape varieties,” to speed up ripening.

intelligent optimization

In Tuscany, Lamberto Frescobaldi – whose family has been making wine for 700 years – sees the turmoil as an opportunity for intelligent adaptation.

Water is now Tuscany’s most precious resource, he said. He said the region needs more water reservoirs, such as Lake Bilancino, north of Florence, built in the 1960s, which can release water to sustain the vines when rivers are at low levels.

“In Tuscany, we are planting north-facing vineyards and selecting rootstocks that grow deep to reach soil moisture,” Frescobaldi said. “This is important in the early years when young plants’ roots are shallow and need the most water.”

His family is also planting trees at high altitudes, where frost and temperatures can drop without warning. To reduce the risk, they are investing in machines that circulate hot air over the vines to prevent freezing.

Their grape blend is also changing. Frescobaldi now grows heat-resistant Vermentino and carefully blends other varieties with his best new varieties.

“Every year someone says, ‘Oh my God! We’re picking Pinot Grigio at the end of July,'” he said. “I mean, is the climate changing? Yes. But the real question is, are we now planting Pinot Grigio in the right place?”

inevitable change

Yet, these adaptations destabilize centuries of tradition – and put pressure on Italy. Value of basic control and guarantee (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin), a legal framework meant to preserve the regional identity of each wine.

Wine styles and traditions will inevitably change, Kimberly Nichols said, a loss that is already underway.

“I have a bottle of Pinot Noir from when I was doing my PhD and I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to drinking it because it’s a taste that’s disappearing from this earth and I’m not sure I’ll ever get it again.”