What Vineyards Teach Us About Drought Mitigation

“Wine is sunlight, held together by water.” — Galileo Galilei

Did you know that irrigation is banned in famous French wine regions like Burgundy and Bordeaux?

These geographic areas (known as appellations) were established agricultural powerhouses long before major crop regions like the U.S. Corn Belt or Brazil’s Cerrado even existed. For over 200 years, local vineyard owners have referred to themselves as farmers, and they possess a trove of agricultural knowledge.

The reason is the soils, which are excellent at holding moisture. They encourage the development of deep, robust root systems that excel at slowly delivering just the right amount of moisture. The underground environment is so important that the French coined a term for the unique relationship between wine and the land: terroir. In fact, many wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux take on flavor characteristics from the soil in which the grapes were grown. Wine enthusiasts often use phrases like “minerality” and “earthiness” to describe how they taste.

It’s clear the rest of the world has been paying attention. Terroir has become a common concept in food movements and other wine regions, and farmers everywhere are exploring ways to grow crops with less water.

They generally have two options: they can either improve soil’s ability to absorb and store water, so plant roots can have access to it; or they can deliver water directly to the soil.

Covered Soil is Healthy Soil

In both vegetable and grain farming, one common drought mitigation strategy is keeping soils covered year-round. Cover crops and conservation tillage are two popular approaches. In addition to keeping moisture in the ground, both can provide a boost to soil organic matter.

Water retention depends greatly on the level of organic matter. Productive agricultural soils, made up primarily of air, water, and minerals, have organic matter levels ranging from three to six percent.

Organic matter is so important that farmers often work for years, testing and adopting the best methods for their soils, to achieve the slightest increase.

What If Rain is Scarce?

In some parts of the world, rainfall is insufficient, so irrigation plays a key role in crop production. Fortunately, the modern agriculture industry has developed a new generation of precision technologies to support farmer efforts. These tools focus on delivering water directly to the soil, rather than to the top of the plants.

Traditional irrigation often loses water to evaporation and leaks, something no farmer can afford during water shortages and droughts.

Sustainable Use of Resources
for the Long Term

By making their soil the foundation for their drought resilience efforts, farmers show their commitment to long-term sustainability. They understand that water management approaches can come from anywhere, including ancestors who worked the same land and wine growers on the other side of the world.  

That kind of commitment and willingness to innovate is something to raise a glass to. May we suggest a fine Burgundy?