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Climate change could alter the balance of temperature and moisture needed for grape growing and shift the global geography of wine production, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by an international team of researchers that includes SFI External Professor Pablo Marquet.

Rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall are projected to shrink the area suitable for wine production in some areas and expand it in others, causing potential damage to wildlife habitat in some regions and impacts on water availability in traditional growing areas.

According to the study, suitability for wine grape growing will decline most in regions with a Mediterranean climate, with an estimated decline range of 25 percent in Chile to 73 percent in Mediterranean climate areas of Australia.

At the same time, areas that are not traditional for wine growing, such as Western North America and Northern Europe, will become increasingly suitable.

Beyond wine production, these changes could have far-reaching implications for water demand, chemical use, wildlife conservation and might open new areas to wine production, according the study.

Read the paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (April 8, 2013)

Read the article in The New York Times (April 7, 2013)

Read the article in the Washington Post (April 9, 2013)

Read the article in The Guardian (April 9, 2013)