Climate Cast: Heat and humidity create havoc for local wines
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Wine experts from other states are raving about the product coming out of Minnesota, and the future actually appears promising for even better vintages as our climate warms. Still, the old nemesis of harsh winters is not going away anytime soon. I was surprised to find out that heat waves and increasingly high humidity is also making life tough for grape growers.
“You can make it so you stop where you change the ratio of sugar to acid, which changes a lot of the flavors in your wines, you can have a really alcoholic, sugary wine that's not balanced with acid as well. You also can break down in the skins if it's if it's a red wine,” Dr. Beth Forrestel told me. She is a professor at the University of California, Davis that specializes in the dire impact of heat waves on wine. Minnesota is not immune, she said.
“If you have a huge heat event, which is you know some of the things we've been having and what has been happening more close to harvest, you can't get that back once you lose that chemical profile,” Forrestel said.
While the overall warming trend for much of Minnesota is not changing as fast in summer compared to winter, prolonged heat waves will ruin a once-promising wine year.
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Humidity, however, could be an even larger issue. Humidity and higher dew points are also a stronger climate signal across the state. More muggy conditions give plant pathogens and mildew a chance to gain a foothold on a grape vine, Greg Jones told MPR News.
“They're (fellow wine scientists) looking at trying to better understand what allows some varieties to be resistant to powdery mildew or down mildew, and then being able to breed that into grapevines,” he said.
Jones is a climate scientist who was part of the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC team in 2007. He’s also the chief executive officer of his family’s winery, called Abacela, out in Oregon. He is also a big believer in cultivars made for Minnesota. Jones and Forrestel agree on the climate science, the great taste of Minnesota wines in 2026, and also the tough challenge with a discerning customer.
We went to the Wine Thief and Ale Jail in central St. Paul for a wine tasting one recent Friday evening. Tasters raved about a cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir. Those grapes don’t grow well in Minnesota, and likely will not thrive even in the longer outlook. But those grapes are what the buyer often knows; they may not be willing to try out something new for an upcoming dinner party if they’re not sure that their friends will like a new bottle.
Even the Wine Thief has stopped carrying Minnesota wines for now, based off of supply issues. The shop manager, Tim Johnson, has one word for Minnesota wines in recent years: progress. Everyone we talked to for this story told us that, if you see a Minnesota wine on a menu, just give it a try. It might already be a hidden gem or a world class pour.
