How satellites help wineries pick new climate-friendly sites
Winegrowers are adapting to climate change in many ways. Some consider abandoning traditional grape varieties long associated with their regions for vines that may be better suited to earlier and more variable growing seasons. Others look up to more northerly latitudes or higher altitudes in search of new vineyards. Pio Boffa, a celebrated producer of barolo and barbaresco at Pio Cesare winery in Italys Piedmonte, not only saw average temperatures rising but also a decline in the autumn rains and winter snows that nourished his vineyard soils with water. So in late 2018 he purchased land higher in the mountains of the Alta Langa with the idea of planting nebbiolo in an area where most vineyards grew chardonnay and pinot noir for sparkling wines. Pio Boffa died in early 2021, and his daughter, Federica Boffa, planted the first parcel of nebbiolo vines at the new site later that spring. The idea, she told me in an email, was to see if Barolo and Barbaresco might survive and thrive in high altitude vineyards that remain very close to the famous appellations. She will harvest the first grapes this year, and plans to vinify them using the same techniques her family has used for five generations. If the results are good, she will plant more vines next spring. Boffa will label the new wine as Langhe Nebbiolo, because Italian regulations limit the boundaries for the pricier barolo and barbaresco wines. For the moment, she adds. Who knows for the future? Jose Silva also looked up way up to outer space. No, hes not planting vines on Mars. Silva, owner of Quinta do Escudial winery in Portugals Dao region, hooked up with Terroir from Space , a start-up based in Italy using satellite data and artificial intelligence to help winegrowers identify promising sites for new vineyards. Terroir from Space is the brainchild of Alessandro Saetta, Paul Kimon Weissenberg and Manuel Poejo Torres, friends with a shared love of wine and science. (Saetta studied aerospace engineering at the Politecnico di Milano.) With support from the European Space Agencys Copernicus program, they developed an algorithm that compares current and historical satellite images, meteorological records and hydrometry to project trends into the future. Climate change is reshaping wine as we know it Confident that their model could help winegrowers map a new vineyard landscape in a dynamic, changing climate, Saetta and his colleagues joined Porto Protocol , an international group of wineries sharing information and advocating for actions to counter climate change. Theres an amazing amount of information in satellite data, Weissenberg explained in a video call. We can determine soil composition up to half a meter deep, the amount of sunlight that shines on a site, and severe weather events to help us project short- to medium-term trends. Silva wanted to plant new vineyards at higher altitudes where vines would face less disease pressure and enjoy a longer growing season. He had a site in mind, but Terroir from Space prompted him to keep looking. Our model projected there would be less rain but more severe storms in the area, so the site he was looking at was too steep a slope and vulnerable to erosion, Saetta said. The model also made a surprising recommendation that Silva seek a northerly facing site, rather than one oriented south or southwest, as is typical in the Dao. Looking for higher-altitude areas, and preferably facing north, were just two of the conclusions we got from Terroir from Space, Silva told me in an email (facilitated by Google Translate). In a business that takes years to yield results, Silva said the information generated by Terroir from Space could help growers avoid costly mistakes when considering new vineyard sites. Gustavo Ascione, one of four partners in Falernia winery north of Naples, said he believes Terroir from Space can help wineries innovate with new blends by helping match grape varieties to particular vineyard sites. Falernia is looking to soften its 4A Falerno del Massico red, a blend of ancient aglianico and piedirosso varieties, with small amounts of cabernet sauvignon or merlot. Finding favorable sites will be crucial, especially since the winery farms organically and cannot rely on chemicals to fight disease, he said. Being able to predict the best conditions will be essential for us to imagine new investments in new vineyard sites, he explained. As climate change challenges us to rethink our preconceptions of where wine can be grown and what it should taste like, part of that new perspective may come from outer space.