As Europe bakes in yet another heatwave, German winegrower Florian Weingart has scattered straw on the ground to keep moisture trapped in the earth and protect his prized vines from extreme temperatures.
Climate change has had some advantages for Germany’s winegrowers over the years, allowing them to experiment with grape varieties better suited to warmer climes and making cultivation possible in new areas. But lengthier and more frequent periods of hot and dry weather are increasingly a challenge. They have left vineyards struggling to sufficiently irrigate their plants, and caused crop yields to dwindle. Scattering straw between vines, known as mulching, is not new, but what has changed is its purpose: from improving general soil health to helping vineyards withstand a warming climate.
“We are at a tipping point,” said Weingart. He now feels that the dangers of climate change “are starting to outweigh the advantages”. “This whole aspect of evaporation protection and the fact that actually offers advantages in dealing with these climate challenges is something we only realised later on,” said Weingart.
It is one of several measures that he is taking in a bid to ensure his small vineyard produces a decent crop despite a historically hot summer and low rainfall.
But he fears that, without some substantial rainfall, the crop will be poor after such a hot, dry summer.
