Warmer Manjimup to deliver quality red wine

Manjimup is set to overtake Margaret River as the wine capital of WA by 2030, with a warming climate enhancing its chardonnays and reds, says a wine expert.
 
The average temperature in the Manjimup-Pemberton wine region is to increase about one degree to about 17 degrees over the next 25 years, according to new modelling.
 
While the change could affect Pemberton’s popular sauvignon blanc, the region’s relatively cool climate places it in a better position than warmer rival Margaret River.
 
But University of Melbourne professor of horticulture and viticulture Snow Barlow said both the Manjimup-Pemberton and Margaret River regions were well placed to weather, and even benefit from, the changes in climate.
 
“In general we would expect, particularly in the Pemberton region, better cabernets coming out,” he said. “They’ll get a little riper and certainly the shiraz would get better.
 
“Chardonnay will probably be OK, but it will just be a little bit different than it is at present.”
 
Sauvignon blanc grape varieties could be affected by warming weather but less so than in other regions in Australia, he said.
 
Professor Barlow was one of a team of experts, including Murdoch University’s Professor Tom Lyons, urging the wine industry to start preparing for climate change, noting there would also be increased weather variability.
 
However, Picardy Wines co-owner Bill Pannell, from Pemberton, was sceptical of the climate change “industry” and said he had tracked weather records which indicated parts of the Great Southern and

South-West had cooled over the past 50 years.
 
Herriot Wines co-owner Yvonne Herriot said she had noticed warmer weather since arriving in Manjimup 10 years ago and was aware it had the potential to affect “cold weather whites” like sauvignon blancs and riesling. Her winery was looking at Italian varieties of grapes, including Nebbiolo and Barbera, which were suited to warmer climates.