Wine needs water: Arlberg Weinberg discusses drought in viticulture

‘Soil moisture is the basis of all life,’ writes Dr. Martin Grassberger. In his book ‘Regenerative’, he advoates agroforestry systems to keep water in the landscape and warns against irrigation in agriculture, as this causes the water table to sink further.

Drought and prolonged dry conditions are a relatively new phenomenon for Central European regions, and the forecasts for the coming decades are alarming. The cultivation of arable land and vineyards will have to adapt, vines will grow in different conditions and wines will taste different.

Benefit from the experience of others

Central European wine producers can learn from their colleagues who have experience working in dry, hot conditions. For example, from Sara Pérez, the icon of natural viticulture in Priorat, Spain, where the annual rainfall rarely exceeds 500 mm per m2. Or star winemaker Arianna Occhipinti from Vittoria in southern Sicily, who favours diversity and produces wonderfully fresh wines from native varieties in the island's dry climate.

Together with physician and biologist Dr. Martin Grassberger and viticulture professor Dr. Alain Deloire, Arianna Occhipinti and Sara Pérez will discuss the interplay between precipitation, soil and vines and share their experiences and findings. Moderated by British author and biologist Dr. Jamie Goode, they will talk about how work in the cellar also changes when the climate dictates new conditions.

10 days programme

The discussion ‘All about Water’ is one of the programme highlights of Arlberg Weinberg 2024. This event series, which is held from 5 to 15 December in the Austrian alpine village of Lech Zürs, offers more than 30 wine-related events. From expert discussions and moderated tastings to exclusive tastings of rarities and wine pairing dinners in the numerous restaurants of the gourmet village.

Arlberg Weinberg is an initiative of Lech Zürs Tourism in co-operation with the Austrian Wine Marketing Board and the following Hotel partners: Burghotel Oberlech, Hotel Krone, Gasthof Post, Hotel Sandhof, Hotel Kristiania Lech, Hotel Berghof and Hotel Rote Wand.