Bordeaux Winemakers Paid to Uproot Vines Amid Climate Change

  • 8 months ago
France is paying winemakers in the famous Bordeaux region to uproot their vines due to challenges from climate change and changing consumer habits. Access to water is becoming a major challenge for the wine industry in Bordeaux in the future. There has also been a historical focus on red wine but consumers are drinking less wine and more beer and lighter wines now. Between June and July 2023, there were 584 requests from winemakers in Bordeaux to remove vines or change land use, totaling around 5,000 hectares of vineyards. Warmer weather benefits wine production in countries like Germany, where volume will increase 6% in 2021. The UK wine industry is also growing as hectares of vines have quadrupled since 2000.