Research leads Israel’s wine industry to climate change solutions

From The Jerusalem Post (January 2025)

As people say, the older the wine, the better the flavor. The same goes for wine-making techniques—at least in the Negev.

The potential of ancient grape cultivars and traditional farming techniques that winemakers can use to adapt to an environment impacted by climate change was uncorked by research by the University of Haifa’s School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures this past August.

The study, titled “Propagating Terroir Revival in the Negev: How the Wine Industry Can Amplify Its Resilience to Climate Adversity through a Deeper Understanding of Historic Dryland Viticulture,” was published in the peer-reviewed journal Horticulture.

Lead researchers Dr. Joshua Schmidt and Prof. Guy Bar-Oz led a team of bioarcheologists, cultural historians, paleogeneticists, ethnographers, and wine experts in this decade-long study.

Read the article here