France is the largest producer and second-largest consumer of wine in the world. Above and beyond wine’s economic importance (it is France’s second-largest export sector, and an integral part of French culture, as well as one of its most iconic products).

The impact of climate change on France’s vineyards is no longer a controversial subject; it has caused major changes across the board: over the past 30 years, the alcohol content has increased by a degree a decade! Short term, the rising temperatures have improved wines from the northernmost regions. Long term, however, the socio-economic stakes are drastic: an entire agricultural sector will have to adapt and evolve. Yet the problem isn’t a simple one, because it involves players with differing or even conflicting economic interests: in Champagne, Bordeaux or the Loire region – let alone California, Chili or New Zealand – wine-growers have different conditions and contexts to cope with, which means their responses will vary greatly.

So what will we be drinking over the next few decades? Will some varietals be more resistant to climate change than others? How can traditional growing and irrigation techniques evolve? What latitudes – and altitudes – will wine-growing reach? And who will be the top players worldwide in wine’s future?

Providing lots of examples, both in France and in other major wine-growing countries, this short and insightful text provides all the information you need to understand exactly what’s at stake.