THE IPCC’s (Intergovernmental panel on climate change) next Climate Change - Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability report is not due to be published until later this year, but the current, 2014, version was already unequivocal, “Climate change will change the geographic distribution of wine grape varieties …”, and elsewhere: “Vineyards may be displaced geographically beyond their traditional boundaries,” that is, existing appellation boundaries. In Europe appellation regulations tend to be much more prescriptive than in Australian GIs. There are rules on which grape varieties can be grown, what planting density, maximum yields, and some, also with details on winemaking options.
Climate is a fundamental parameter of ‘terroir’ – the expression of sense of place. Where European appellations have a known, reputable, prestigious
