Why climate change may favour Garnacha in Rioja

Praising Rioja for its constant adaptation, chief winemaker at Ramón Bilbao, Rodolfo Bastida, told db last week that climate change was driving up plantings of Garnacha in a land dominated by Tempranillo.

Speaking on Friday 17 October in London, where Bastida showed a selection of wines from Rioja, the winemaker, who is also the director at Ramón Bilbao, said that there were a number of developments taking place in the famous Spanish region, primarily as a result of changing weather patterns, particularly longer periods without rainfall.

Among such moves, he picked out the fact that Garnacha is being favoured over Tempranillo – which accounts for more than 80% of plantings in the region – as older vineyards in Rioja are reaching a stage where it’s necessary to replant.

The reason a grower might choose to replant a Tempranillo vineyard with Garnacha relates to the irregularity of rainfall in Rioja, according to Bastida.

“We might have too much rain in the spring, but then a very long summer with no rain, and Tempranillo prefers to have more frequent rains,” he recorded.

In the past, Garnacha was grown in the driest places, but now, with replanting, I think Garnacha will increase,” he added.

When asked about irrigating vineyards, he said that while it is allowed in the driest parts of the region, there is a particular problem in a prized sub-region such as Rioja Alta.

While rainfall there is around 450mm annually, the gaps between downpours is increasing, and “there are no lakes or places for storing water” – should it be possible to irrigate – while this is also a part of Rioja with little Garnacha.

Tempranillo may well be “well adapted to cold conditions” according to Bastida, but “it doesn’t like the drought”, and drops its leaves during dry spells, leaving the bunches exposed to direct sunlight, which can scorch the berries, giving rise to raisined fruit.

Looking back to Rioja’s past, Bastida said that when phylloxera arrived in Rioja in the late nineteenth century, the total vineyard area was around 80,000 hectares – meaning it was even larger than the approximate 65,000ha of plantings today.

However, the plant louse reduced Rioja’s vineyard area to around 15,000ha by the turn of the twentieth century, at which point, using grafts onto phylloxera resistant American rootstocks, replanting took place, mostly with Garnacha.

By the 70s, when the majority of vineyards were 60 years old or more, Bastida said that a round of replanting took place, this time favouring Tempranillo.

“It was the time of the agricultural revolution and with the arrival of chemical sprays it was easier to manage Tempranillo, while Garnacha was deemed less desirable due to its propensity to millerandage (uneven fruit set), and therefore lower and less regular yields.

Today, Bastida said there is around 9000ha of Garnacha in Rioja, but, a new wave of replanting is taking place, as the vineyards from the 70s are getting older, and growers are considering replacing them with new vines once more.

“Growers are now replacing the vineyards planted in the 70s, and there is more focus on Garnacha in the drier areas of Rioja, as well as more focus on Graciano and Mazuelo,” he said, referring to two further lesser grapes of the region, relative to the dominance of Tempranillo.

As a result, he said, “The future of the region will be more interesting, because it will be more mutli-grape.”

He added, “Rioja is an incredible region in terms of adaptation.”

Other changes taking place as a result of climate change include planting vines at higher altitudes, with Ramon Bilbao pioneering the term Viñedo de Altura for vineyards located over 500m (when the average altitude for plantations is around 400m).

In the future, Bastida also wondered whether a warming trend, and drier climate, might encourage the Rioja consejo regulador (controlling body) to consider altering the region’s boundaries.

He told db, “There are some villages that are outside the appellation, but, due to their colder conditions, may be good places for growing vineyards.”

By way of example, he mentioned Santo Domingo de la Calzada, which he said was only 20km from Rioja wine capital Haro, and potentially ideally-suited for wine growing, yet the village is outside the region’s borders for vineyards.

Related news

Ramón Bilbao becomes official partner of Spain's national football teams

Zamora cuts carbon emissions as Ramón Bilbao marks 100 years

Ramón Bilbao joins exclusive club as it celebrates centenary