Warming the Vines

Winemakers are beginning to worry about how climate change will affect the taste of their product—and the survival of their business—in the near future. Wine grapes are extraordinarily temperature-sensitive, so as global warming intensifies, areas that now produce great wines will likely yield lower-quality bottles. If trends continue, it’s possible that the “premium-wine-grape production area [in the United States] … could decline by up to 81 percent by the late 21st century.”