Climate change: What are the costs of measures for protecting German wine grape production from extreme weather?

Late frost or hailstorms can cause severe damage in vineyards. Mitigation measures such as hail nets, frost candles or wind machines are potentially profitable where these extreme weather events are common. The choice of measures depends on farm size and production system characteristics.

For Germany, climate change is expected to lead to an increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as drought, hailstorms and late frosts. These can have drastic effects on wine grape yields. However, incidence of extreme weather events and the related damage differs widely between producing regions, vineyards characteristics and production systems.

Based on our typical wine grape farms in the German regions Rheinhessen and Franken, we assessed profitability of different mitigation measures. The expected damages from extreme weather events and the possible mitigation measures in each region were discussed with farm advisors and a focus group of wine grape farmers.

Hailstorm insurance is an efficient mitigation measure, sustaining liquidity in case of hail damage, at the cost of 4 – 5 % of gross margin in years without hail. Hail nets can be an efficient option in Rheinhessen, where hail storms are more frequent. Frost candles are an option only for small vineyards and high value grapes (bottled wine producers). On larger vineyards, this measure is not feasible due to labor requirements. Wind machines for mitigating late frost are a potentially profitable measure for larger farms with suitable vineyards, but not on steep slopes. Support for financing might be needed for wider adoption.

The results show, that different mitigation measures for extreme weather events are efficient for the different regions. The expected frequency of the damaging weather events, varieties and targeted wine quality are important factors for the choice of risk management measures. Measures that are linked to changes in vineyard management, such as hail nets or the minimum pruning trellising system are less likely to be used by farmers than hail insurance.

Download the full report (in German):

Agrarrelevante Extremwetterlagen und Möglichkeiten von Risikomanagementsystemen
(Thünen Report 30, pdf, 10.476 KB)

English summary of the report
(pdf, 206 KB)

For more information please contact:

Kathrin.Strohm@ti.bund.de