Wine Industry May Look to Ancient Rome For Answers to Climate Change

The vineyards of ancient Rome looked nothing like they do today. Researchers have pointed to one agricultural technique that could help beleaguered winemakers battle climate change. (Photo: AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto)

On Wednesday, The Conversation reported that wine growers may potentially look to ancient Roman viticultural techniques when faced with increasingly extreme weather due to climate change.

Romans were indeed heavy wine drinkers, who would often dilute their glasses with water and enjoy wine’s calming effect. It’s no secret that winemaking was a massive industry in Ancient Rome, but according to the research of Ghent University Postdoctoral researcher Dimitri Van Limbergen, Rome, too, faced “centuries of markedly warmer temperatures,” and the Roman wine industry had to adapt.

Van Limbergen researches archaeology, ancient history, agriculture and wine.

According to his research, an agricultural technique of attaching vines to trees in fields used to grow grains and vegetables was fairly common. The system was called “arbustum” and is a type of agroforestry.

With vines growing high up in trees, the vineyards of ancient Rome looked quite different from the modern, lower rows of vines we see today.

“Location also played a big role,” Van Limbergen wrote. “Almost all ancient texts place the use of vine agroforestry in the low-lying, flat and damp lands of the Italian peninsula. This observation may baffle modern wine growers, as grapevines do not like too much water. However, these lands were often close to rivers and coasts, which were major economic corridors and therefore attractive areas for settlement and agriculture.”

Van Limbergen claims the main types of trees used for the arbustum technique were willows, elders, poplars and elms. These varieties of trees thrived in moist areas and soaked up the dampness of the soil, serving as a “water pump” and ensuring natural drainage around the vines.

By training vines to climb trees, moisture damage to grapes was reduced and the vines were able to seek out the warm rays of the sun. Limbergen also alleges that training Vitis vinifera vines to climb trees ensures healthier rootstock, making them resistant to various diseases.

Certain vineyards are already looking to these ancient Roman techniques, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations claims that agroforestry is a “key climate solution.”

At an address, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Qu Dongyu cited these techniques as potentially putting an end to food insecurity, famine and poverty.

“Farmers need access to training, technology, markets and financial support to adopt agroforestry practices effectively,” Dongyu said.

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