Wine producers in Belgium’s Walloon region are changing their wine production techniques due to the growing threat of climate change.
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At first glance, rising temperatures appear to favor the growth of vineyards in a country famous for its beer – in 2023, Belgium produced 3.4 million liters of wine, an increase of 13 percent compared to the previous year.
According to Sébastien Doutreloup, a climatologist at the University of Liège, the number of vineyards in Belgium has been steadily increasing over the past decade as a result of climate change.
Climate change also brings with it many obstacles to help improve wine production.
Climatic hazards
In Wallonia, near Dinant, Château Bon Baron is also not immune to the uncertainties of climate change.
“With climate change, it’s not just a matter of warmer weather where the grapes ripen more. It’s more about extremes, and extremes are not good. Floods, rain, frost,” said Jeanette van der Steen, owner and winemaker at Chateau Bon Baron.
He said that because of the rise in temperatures as a result of global warming, the vines start to bud earlier in the season and then they become more vulnerable to spring frosts.
Another threat is the introduction of pests and diseases to vines from northern Europe, which were previously more widespread in the south.
“There is a pest called Drosophila suzukii. It started in the south of Europe. So at the time, other countries in the north were not affected. But apparently Drosophila suzukii is moving north every year and it has already arrived in Belgium”, warns Jeanette van der Steen.
Wine producers adapt
Winegrowers are adapting by changing their techniques. For example, the owner of Chateau Bon Baron, who advocates sustainable growing, spreads soil over her vines to protect them from water and heat stress. She also thins the leaves on the vines.
“When the leaves become thinner, the vines are less exposed to heat, cold, rain and wind. This makes their skin thicker, so there is less risk of insect attacks and disease. For example, the grapes are better protected from the heat”, she explains.
Due to climate change, it is also becoming difficult to predict the start of crop harvesting.
When Jeannette van der Steen started working as a wine grower in the 2000s, the harvest in Wallonia began in mid-October. Due to the years and rising temperatures, it now begins in early September.
This year, according to the winemaker, it is still too early to say, as he is keeping a close eye on the weather.