Modelling the relationship between climate, winegrape price and winegrape quality in Australia

Abstract

An essential pre-requisite to exploration of the potential impacts of climate change on wine quality is to establish a robust relationship between winegrape quality and climate. Here, Australian wine industry regional scale climate and winegrape quality information were evaluated. A model that describes the climate sensitivity of quality measures for premium winegrape varieties grown in Australia is presented. The relationship between winegrape quality and climate varies for the different varieties examined: with some varieties, a linear reduction in quality in response to a warmer climate is exhibited, While a quadratic relationship of quality change with increasing temperature is exhibited..