Tunisia’s modest wine industry, already bearing the weight of climate change, faces a dire reckoning as a searing summer scorches the nation’s vineyards, leaving grape growers and winemakers grappling with a precarious future. With North Africa experiencing hotter and drier conditions attributed to climate change, the repercussions are evident as grapes are damaged or lost to the unrelenting heat.
Estimates of the extent of the wine production decline vary, with figures ranging from a 20% reduction, as reported by the Agriculture Ministry’s Kilani Belhaj, to a more severe 40-50% decrease, according to Salim Chaouch, the head of the Vineyard Producers’ Syndicate.
France and other southern European wine regions have not been immune to the impact of this year’s relentless heat, with vintners there also sounding alarms about diminished wine yields.
For Tunisian farmer Wajdi Graya, this year’s harvest has been devastating, with his production plummeting by 40% to 60%. He attributes this significant drop to soaring temperatures in July, where the mercury rose to an astonishing 38-48 degrees Celsius, leading to reduced sugar levels in his grapes.
“Climate change has cast its shadow over both the quantity and quality of our production, profoundly affecting the entire sector. We’ve had to delay our harvest to salvage acceptable sugar levels, but it inevitably comes at the cost of quality,” Graya lamented.
Tunisia boasts a historical legacy of wine production, dating back to the Carthaginian and Roman eras, and later revived during French colonial rule. While it hasn’t emerged as a major global exporter, Tunisian supermarkets proudly showcase a diverse array of locally crafted wines, many hailing from the lush northern hills surrounding the Cap Bon peninsula.
The harvesting process begins in the cool morning hours as grapes are meticulously gathered and then transported to the modern processing facility located in Takelsa, central Tunisia, where they are transformed into the coveted beverage.
“This year has been an ordeal for farmers. Some couldn’t harvest a single cluster from their vines. Unirrigated crops yielded nothing, and even those that received water fared only slightly better. Most farmers have been severely impacted,” Graya ruefully noted.
At Coteaux Takelsa, a company responsible for producing wine from grapes cultivated by Graya and approximately 160 other farmers, director Hammadi Brik has taken proactive steps to assist struggling grape growers. These measures include restructuring farmers’ debts and adapting grape specifications to accommodate the challenging conditions.
“The farmers have voiced their concerns, and we have taken this season’s difficulties into consideration,” Brik affirmed.
As Tunisia’s wine industry grapples with the relentless pressures of climate change, the nation’s vintners and growers are forced to adapt to a new reality, where the delicate balance between quantity and quality is increasingly challenged by the unpredictable forces of nature.
