
-
Iran, US hold new round of high-stakes nuclear talks
-
Up at dawn for front-row seat to history at Francis's funeral
-
Pakistan ready to 'defend sovereignty' after India threats
-
Huge crowds flock to Vatican for Pope Francis's funeral
-
Xi says China must 'overcome' AI chip challenges
-
Indian army says new exchange of gunfire with Pakistan
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre takes own life in Australia: family
-
Hundreds of buildings damaged, dozens injured in 6.3 Ecuador quake
-
India and Pakistan's Kashmir fallout hits economy too
-
Francis's funeral to be grand farewell to 'pope of the poor'
-
Pogacar faces defiant Evenepoel at Liege-Bastogne-Liege
-
Chelsea eye great escape against Barcelona in Women's Champions League
-
Iran, US to hold new round of high-level nuclear talks
-
'Energy and effort' pay off for Reds as Blues' woes continue
-
Albatross and closing birdie lift China's Liu to LPGA Chevron lead
-
On the horizon? Wave of momentum for high seas treaty
-
Top Mistakes to Avoid When Building Credit History
-
Developing countries should fast-track US trade deals: World Bank president
-
Grizzlies' Morant 'doubtful' for must-win game 4 v Thunder
-
Trump in Rome for pope funeral in first foreign trip of new term
-
Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal 'very close' after new Kremlin talks
-
US rookies lead PGA pairs event with McIlroy and Lowry in hunt
-
Trump tariff promises get a reality check
-
Warriors coach Kerr 'relatively optimistic' injured Butler will play game 3
-
Postecoglou hopes 'Stonecutter's Credo' can inspire Spurs
-
PSG lose unbeaten Ligue 1 record ahead of Arsenal showdown
-
Venezuela accuses El Salvador president of 'human trafficking'
-
Own goal takes Sundowns to African final against Pyramids
-
Scores of buildings damaged, 20 injured in Ecuador quake
-
US stocks extend rally as market eyes busy calendar next week
-
Pope's death triggers surge of disinformation he fought against
-
Rovanpera takes control of Rally Islas Canarias
-
Zelensky insists Crimea is Ukrainian as US envoy meets Putin
-
Patel and Mendis help Sunrisers beat Kings in Dhoni's 400th T20
-
Copa del Rey ref statements 'unacceptable': Real Madrid after boycotting final build-up
-
Insurance CEO's accused killer pleads not guilty to federal murder charges
-
FBI arrests Wisconsin judge for shielding undocumented migrant
-
Brazil ex-president Collor de Mello jailed for corruption
-
Zelensky insists Crimea 'belongs' to Ukraine as US envoy meets Putin
-
Real Madrid boycott Copa del Rey build-up over referee complaints
-
Trinidad and Tobago votes for parliament, PM, with opposition in lead
-
IMF chief hails 'constructive' Spring Meetings held under tariff uncertainty
-
Iran FM Araghchi in Oman ahead of nuclear talks with US
-
Dozens of buildings destroyed, 20 injured in Ecuador quake
-
Young Barca must 'enjoy' Real Madrid Copa final fight: Flick
-
Pakistan and India border closure separates families
-
Brazil's Bolsonaro 'stable' after post-surgery setback
-
Catholics in secular Cuba hail Francis as 'bridge'
-
US envoy Witkoff, Putin discuss 'possibility' of direct Russia-Ukraine talks
-
Community seeks answers after French school knife killing

Climate change is improving French wine -- for now
What makes a good or bad year for wine? It's a question that vexes not only vintners but also scientists, who've long looked to weather conditions to provide the answer.
A new study published Wednesday in the journal iScience now argues that climate change could contribute to superior vintages -- at least up to a point.
By analyzing decades worth of wine critic scores from Bordeaux, the research shows that good years are characterized by warmer temperatures, greater differences between winter and summer, and earlier, shorter growing seasons.
All conditions that are becoming more frequent as a result of human-caused planetary warming.
"I don't think that climate change is a good thing," Andrew Wood, lead author of the study told AFP.
Even though it appears to be improving wine growing conditions, climate change also exposes vineyards to more extreme events, Wood said, from heightened risk of fires in summer to more frost and hail storms in spring.
And even if good years are characterized by a dry and hot summer, too severe a drought can be devastating.
When a certain threshold is reached, quality drops dramatically "and you can even get the situation in which grapes are dropped from the vine," said Wood.
"We could be very close to the point at which it stops becoming better, and it starts being a lot worse," added the University of Oxford scientist. "We just don't know."
- Stronger wines -
Wood and colleagues paired detailed climate data with annual wine critic scores from the Bordeaux wine region in southwest France from 1950 to 2020, finding that, for the time being, the trend is positive.
They focused on Bordeaux because its wine region relies exclusively on rainfall for irrigation and because of the long term records of wine scores.
Of course, wine judging is subjective and unblinded, meaning the critics know what they are tasting.
But the paper argues that because there is broad consensus about what makes good versus bad wine, the taste scores offer a reliable means to monitor how crops are changing over time -- and they attempted to statistically control for the effects of improving winemaking technology.
"People generally prefer stronger wines which age for longer and give you richer, more intense flavors, higher sweetness, and lower acidity," said Wood.
"And with climate change -- generally, we are seeing a trend across the world that with greater warming, wines are getting stronger."
Higher temperatures lead to more photosynthesis, which in turn produces more sugar and a higher alcohol content.
Previous studies identified the beneficial effect of rainy winters and high temperatures in summer.
But the researchers in the current study showed that the other seasons also play an important role: wet and warm springtimes, and dry and cool autumns, are also linked with better rated wines.
They achieved this by matching highly localized, year-round weather data, with critics' ratings of individual "appellation d'origine controlee" (AOCs) in Bordeaux.
According to Wood, the same trends could hold true of other wine-growing regions of the world.
But, he stresses, it's not something to toast.
"The problem in scenarios where it gets really hot is water: if plants don't have enough, they eventually fail, and when they fail, you lose everything," he said.
P.M.Smith--AMWN