How are the wine regions across the globe faring with climate change?

Brian Freedman has been traveling the globe to take its temperature.

The author of the new book “Crushed: How a Changing Climate Is Altering the Way We Drink” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022, $32) explores how Sonoma County and other regions producing wine and spirits are faring with climate change.

In addition to Sonoma County, Freedman explores Kentucky, Texas, Bordeaux, Israel, England, Chile and South Africa.

“I chose these specific places because they seemed to represent an excellent range of locations and climates, and they’re all dealing with climate change in unique ways,” he said. “I don't think any one region is struggling more than another, since every year seems to bring a new issue. ... The reality is that climate change is impacting wine regions around the world, from fire and drought in California to hail and frost in Europe.”

Among vintners in Sonoma County, Freedman singled out Kutch Wines for taking unique steps to address climate change.

“(Owner) Jamie Kutch is a fantastic producer who cares deeply about the health of the soil, the balance of the ecosystem, and he makes decisions based on what nature demands that particular year,” Freedman said. “Healthy ecosystems help to allow vines to survive and thrive even in often-adverse conditions, and it’s better for the environment and the final wines, too.”

The effects of climate change are appearing far more quickly than had been predicted a generation ago, Freedman said.

“For this reason, respecting the land, limiting chemical inputs and striving to create a healthy ecosystem are deeply important. Healthy soil results in better, more terroir-specific wines. Older vines with deeper root systems seem to do better in our changing climate, too.”

Grape growers and winemakers need to adapt to these changes, he said.

“It’s important to accept the realities of climate change, and if that means that a particular grape variety is no longer optimal for a region or appellation that it once thrived in, then pivoting to a more appropriate one should be considered,” Freedman said. “The issue of increasing heat and drought cannot be overstated. And if they necessitate transitioning to varieties that thrive better in that heat, that need less irrigation, then that option should be on the proverbial table.”

Looking to new vineyard sites is also key, he said.

“We’ve seen this with the increasing focus on mountain sites,” Freedman said. “For example, in the case of Napa cabernet sauvignon, it has introduced a whole new generation of wine drinkers to the beauty of those ‘crunchy’ mountain tannins and of the energy that’s imparted by poorer soils and dramatic diurnal shifts.”

After traveling the world and hearing about the calamities of wildfires, droughts, hail and frosts, Freedman finds himself a pragmatic optimist.

“Climate change is real,” the author said. “It’s here, it’s happening, and no amount of claiming otherwise will change the facts on the ground. That having been said, I don’t think it’s possible to speak with grape growers and winemakers and not come away with a sense of optimism.

“The people who grow the grapes and make the wines we love are among the smartest, most inventive professionals I've ever met,” Freedman said. “And I firmly believe that this industry will play a key role in helping all agriculture find a way forward.”

You can reach Wine Writer Peg Melnik at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.