Case Study: Premium Viticulture Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Client
Familia Torres - Leading International Wine Producer (Spain)
The Challenge
Climate change is fundamentally changing the conditions under which premium wine grapes are grown. Rising temperatures, declining rainfall, and increasing climate variability threaten grape quality, vineyard productivity, and long-term investment decisions.
Familia Torres sought an evidence-based assessment of future climate risks across two flagship vineyards to support strategic adaptation planning and ensure the long-term resilience of their premium wine portfolio.
Our Approach
Éiceo developed an integrated climate risk assessment combining climate science, vineyard performance analysis and strategic adaptation planning.
Our work included:
Analysis of historic climate trends and vineyard performance.
Climate projections to 2100 using multiple emissions scenarios.
Assessment of key viticultural bioclimatic indicators including:
Huglin Index (heat accumulation)
Growing Season Precipitation
Branas, Bernon and Levadoux (BBL) disease risk index
Comparison of projected climate conditions against historical vineyard yield and production costs.
Evaluation of climate impacts on productivity, quality and business performance.
Identification of practical short, medium and long-term adaptation opportunities.
Key Findings
The assessment demonstrated that both vineyard sites are likely to experience:
Increasing temperatures throughout the growing season.
Reduced growing season rainfall and greater drought risk.
Earlier grape ripening and changing production conditions.
Reduced mildew pressure due to warmer, drier conditions.
Different levels of climate sensitivity between vineyard locations, highlighting the importance of site-specific management.
By combining climate projections with operational and financial data, we identified which vineyards were likely to become more resilient under future climates and where adaptation investment would deliver the greatest value.
Outcomes
The project provided a practical roadmap for climate adaptation, enabling the client to:
Better understand long-term climate risks across their vineyard portfolio.
Prioritise adaptation investments based on scientific evidence.
Support future vineyard acquisition and site selection decisions.
Evaluate vineyard resilience under multiple climate futures.
Integrate climate adaptation into long-term business strategy and portfolio planning.
The assessment also reinforced the value of combining climate science with financial and operational analysis to support resilient, investment-ready agricultural systems.
Éiceo Capability
This project demonstrates Éiceo's ability to integrate climate science, natural capital expertise and strategic business analysis to help land-based industries prepare for an uncertain future.
Our services include:
Climate change risk assessments
Adaptation strategy development
Natural capital and land-use planning
Scenario modelling
Portfolio resilience analysis
Nature-based investment advisory
Agricultural and environmental systems analysis
We help organisations move beyond understanding climate risk to making informed, strategic decisions that strengthen resilience and create long-term value.
