Global warming threatens the sector.
In Spain, according to experts, it rains 25% less than half a century ago and, on top of that, when it rains, it rains worse: storms are more frequent and more harmful. In fact, even temperatures have risen, and not just anyone says it: National Geographic magazine tells it. One of the sectors most affected is wine, which is fundamental to the Spanish economy. So much so that the Spanish Wine Federation, which groups 800 wineries, recognizes that climate change is the biggest threat to Spanish viticulture . For this reason, this entity and four other similar organizations from France, Italy, Germany and Macedonia have joined forces with the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) to teach professionals in the sector to fight against climate change. The project is called Green Vineyards.
Strategies to combat it
The strategies to combat it are multiple: in the south of France use shading mesh to reduce the temperature of the clusters and in Italy, Macedonia and Germany develop other experiences that, now, they will be shared on a common website funded by the Agricultural and Rural Development Centre of Italy, the Environmental Research Institute of Macedonia, the Lake Constance Foundation of Germany, the French Vineyard and Wine Institute, The Unir and the Spanish Wine Federation. Spanish partners, for example, stress the need to work with higher quality raw materials and preserve their specificities and the Germans worry about how to adjust the temperature rise to varieties that, like theirs, do not occur at any latitude. Italy is looking for more competitive wines and Macedonia aims to copy the examples of other more advanced countries in terms of promoting their wines. However, the aim is the same: to guarantee at least several more centuries of quality wines in Europe.
A knowledge transfer system
From the Union, all the technological framework will be provided and, also, the educational tools to allow knowledge to be transferred from some producing areas to others. A catalogue of good practices, different free multimedia resources to be published each quarter are part of a Green Vineyards project, in which communication technologies will be key.
SOURCE: ELNACIONAL.CAT