Good news for wine drinkers: a leading international body says grape vines are very hardy and can survive climate change. Earlier harvesting, changes in grape varieties and new wine-making processes have already helped counter the impact of the harsher weather hitting vineyards across the globe, head of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, Jean-Marie Aurand, says."Wine producers all over the world have adapted to the changes and the plant has a capacity of adjustment that you can find in no other plant," said Aurand.He cited the example of the island of Lanzarote where vines are grown in lava that absorbs overnight dew - virtually the only water they receive in the summer - and release it during the day.In China, more than 80% of production acreage is located in regions where temperatures can drop below -30°C in winter, he said. Growers cover vines to protect them and uncover them in spring.Some winemakers are shifting the way they produce wine.Australia's Treasury Wine Estates, for example, is testing technology to water vines underground."You can adapt to climate change or you can react to it," Treasury's chief supply officer Stuart McNab said...