This vineyard in Chile's Elqui Valley may be one that is forced to transplant southward due to global warming.
A leading economic consulting firm says that some of Chile’s leading wine producers may have to move their vineyards farther south as climate change makes their current locations too dry and warm.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers study warns that ideal climatic conditions needed for grape growing will shift to higher Chilean latitudes due to a 30 percent reduction in rainfall and an expected temperature rise of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit in established production areas.
The Santiago Times reports that famed brands such as Viña Morande have already begun planting vines around Lake Llanquihue, about 500 miles south of the country’s primary wine country.
Elena Carretero, head of Consorcios del Vino – a task force commissioned by 90 Chilean wine firms to study the matter – told the newspaper that relocation farther south due to climate change should not be a problem for most growers.
Photo: Tim Abbott - iStockphoto