“I have seen everywhere vines that cause death. It would be a disaster for Portugal, but also for the rest of Europe, if the situation repeats itself next year,” says the manager of wine producer Casa Santos Lima.
Climate crisis can threaten the availability of Finns’ favorite wines. In an extensive report on Saturday, HS told what kind of conditions Alko’s favorite wines are produced under.
The best-selling red wines in Finland are 2u Duas Uvas and Quinta das Setencostas. Both are inexpensive, of which the very popular 2u Duas Uvas is a so-called squat wine. Both wines are produced at two wineries in Casa Santos Lima. They are located in Portugal near Lisbon.
General Manager of Casa Santos Lima José Luís Santos Lima Oliveira da Silva tells HS that the climate crisis is wreaking havoc on agriculture.
Critically important water reserves have been running low. This growing season received only half of the normal amount of rain, and the heat reached extremes. The drought still hasn’t subsided.
Temperature records were widely broken in Europe this summer. The exceptional heat led to serious consequences, especially in Western Europe. For example, up to a thousand people have died in Spain and Portugal due to the heat.
Due to the exceptionally hot, sweltering weather, the grape harvest started earlier than anyone can remember. As a result of the heat and drought, according to preliminary estimates, the wine harvest will also be clearly scarcer than usual.
The climate crisis has demanded enormous adaptation from wine growers around the world. In addition to the early grape harvest due to the heat, winegrowers have been plagued by violent storms and surprising night frosts in the middle of the growing season.
In April 2021, for example, the region of Provence in southern France experienced the coldest nights in 50 years, as a result of which a huge number of future crops were destroyed.
HS visited the Casa Santos Lima winery at the end of September. The dryness was clearly visible at that time.
“The grapes have remained significantly smaller than normal,” said Oliveira da Silva.
71-year-old Oliveira da Silva’s observations are not limited to his own condition. The wine director has made disturbing observations from various parts of Portugal.
“I have seen everywhere vines that cause death. It would be a disaster for Portugal, but also for the rest of Europe, if the situation repeats itself next year.”
At two of the Lisbon production area’s own farms, the weather conditions have shown that the harvest started and ended earlier than usual. Vines are not irrigated artificially on farms, but we may have to in a few years, he estimates.
Casa Santos Lima owns premises in different parts of the country.
Wine connoisseurs and critics consider the Portuguese varieties a treasure trove, as there are officially about 250, as in France. Emerging trends include the production of organic and primary wines by choosing old grape stocks.
“Organic is the next step for us, but not yet. For now, we rely on sustainable farming.”
A grape harvester tipped the cargo onto a tractor at the Quinta do Conde farm.
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