++NIGHTSHOTS++

Moshav Segula, south-central Israel - 21 August, 2021

1. Various of machinery harvesting grapes at night-time

2. Various of Eran Alkavi with friends and family inspecting grapes and tasting wine

++DAYSHOTS++

Moshav Segula, south-central Israel – 30 August, 2021

3. Mid of Eran Alkavi, retired Agriculture Ministry agronomist, Grape farmer

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eran Alkavi, retired Agriculture Ministry agronomist:

"The most (biggest) problem that we have is that we don't have too much chilling hours in the winter. The winter becomes warm and so the wine (vines) do not wake up so well. Bud-break is very weak and continues sometimes for two long weeks of bud-break and it's not good for the yield. It's not good for the quality and dealing with it, we don't really know what to do."

Moshav Kanaf, Golan Heights – 25 August

5. Wide of vineyard

Moshav Segula, south-central Israel – 30 August, 2021

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eran Alkavi, former Agriculture Ministry agronomist, Grape farmer (viticulturist)

"We are still growing grapes and if it continues like this for five, six years in this city and like the situation, the situation that was this year, I think most of the farmers will close and they're looking for other things to grow, really because this year, the year was very, very low (yield). Most of the farmers I don't know if they'll balance with the with the economic situation. And I think they are not going to do it for a long time if it's going to be like this, yes."

Moshav Kanaf, Golan Heights – 25 August

7. Various of vineyard and grapes ready for harvesting

8. Close set up of Ofer Torgeman owner of vineyard in the Golan Heights

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ofer Torgeman, Grape farmer (viticulturist)

"When they begin to harvest my vineyard, for the first time is the Syrah, for example, was harvested before the Cabernet, and at the last five years I saw some change that the Cabernet  it's harvested before the Syrah, the meaning that some something it's influenced of my Cabernet and my Syrah. The cabernet was harvested in the middle of September until October. And at the last year I saw that the Cabernet is harvest at the beginning of September. The meaning is that it's a harvested two weeks before which was in the past."

10. Cutaway of tasting grapes

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ofer Torgeman, Grape farmer (viticulturist)

"But we see that your wines it's not very it's not balanced and you don't have a good quality in your wine and you must to make, fix the must and the wine after you bring the grapes to your winery. As usual, I want that the the maturing will be excellent in the vineyard. And if I want that the maturity the meaning of it is that that the level of the sugar, the level of the acidity and the aroma and taste of the wine will be balanced and will be at a good time. Now I see that (the) I must to fix my must (young wine) in the winery. The meaning that the grapes it's not come into full quality."

12. Various of harvested grapes placed in carton on truck

13. Various of machinery mashing grapes

14. Zoom into jug filled for quality testing

15. Various of machinery processing grapes

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Ofer Torgeman, Grape farmer (viticulturist)

"If the temperature will be more high, I must to change my work in the vineyard, The meaning it is to take species that they have a good quality in the warm, warm weather. For example, maybe in more 10 years from today, maybe I can't to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, and then I must take a species that is give you a good quality in the warm, warm weather, for example Grenache or Carignan or some species like this. So, I must to change it, I must to take the Cabernet out and put a new variety in my place, Okay? And this is a meaning for the future of the warm weather."

17. Close of grapes

18. Close of meteorological station

LEAD IN:

Wine makers in Israel say they will have to change the types of grapes they're growing, because their current varieties will not survive climate change which is warming temperatures.

They say warmer winters are making their vines bud too early, affecting the quality of their product.

STORY-LINE

Again the harvest has come too early for winemakers here in Moshav Segula, but the farmers are making the best out of what they say is another year of very low yields.

Mechanical harvesting takes place at night to ensure the grapes don't ferment under the scorching middle eastern sun.

High temperatures are at the core of a low yield, says Eran Alkavi an agricultural agronomist specialising in grape growing.

Alkavi turned to growing grapes himself in his retirement.

He says an additional problem to the higher summer temperatures, is the warmer winters.

The vines need a period of cold in the winter to enable a timely bud-break in the vineyards, this when vines wake up from their winter dormancy.

Warm winters mean an early bud-break and for the varieties grown in Israel it means a lower yield and a lower quality of wine.

"The most (biggest) problem that we have is that we don't have too much chilling hours in the winter. The winter becomes warm and so the wine (vines) do not wake up so well. Bud-break is very weak and continues sometimes for two long weeks of bud-break and it's not good for the yield. It's not good for the quality and dealing with it, we don't really know what to do," says Alkavi.

Bud-break normally starts early to mid-March and vines flower by the middle of April.

Now warm winters and the warm winds that come from the Arabian Desert in the south east drive temperatures higher, often forcing the vines to close down to survive.

Alkavi now wonders whether he and other can continue to keep producing grapes.

"We are still growing grapes and if it continues like this for five, six years in this city and like the situation, the situation that was this year, I think most of the farmers will close and they're looking for other things to grow, really because this year, the year was very, very low (yield). Most of the farmers I don't know if they'll balance with the with the economic situation. And I think they are not going to do it for a long time if it's going to be like this, yes," he says.

Ofer Torgeman, a grape farmer or viticulturist, in Israel's north says the changes in the weather are obvious.

When Torgeman began tending a vineyard almost 15 years ago he recorded the temperatures and the harvest times for the varieties he grows, which are Cabernet and Syrah (Shiraz).

"The last five years I saw some change that the Cabernet  it's harvested before the Syrah," says Torgeman.

He says the Cabernet was normally harvested in the middle of September until October. But now he says the cabernet is being harvested at least two weeks earlier than normally.

He says the climate is affecting the quality of the wines he and others are able to produce.

Torgeman explains: "But we see that your wines it's not very it's not balanced and you don't have a good quality in your wine and you must to make, fix the must and the wine after you bring the grapes to your winery. As usual, I want that the the maturing will be excellent in the vineyard. And if I want that the maturity the meaning of it is that  that the level of the sugar, the level of the acidity and the aroma and taste of the wine will be balanced and will be at a good time. Now I see that (the) I must to fix my my must (young wine) in the winery. The meaning that the grapes it's not come into full quality."

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981.

There are over 300 wineries in Israel.

The industry is worth over US $ 40 million with a harvest of 60,000 tons of grapes, producing over 40 million bottles of wine, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The vineyards stretch from the coastal plains to mountains in central Israel, and from the Golan Heights down to the Negev desert.

Over 55 percent of the exports are bound for North America, 35 percent goes to Europe and the rest to the Far East, according to official data.

The winemaking areas also include the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 war, territories the Palestinians want for their future state.

In November 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled that European countries must label products originating in the settlements.

Growing vines is not an easy task, Israel has a chronic lack of water, worsened by drought in the last five years.

The normally rainy season is now dry and many farmers compensate the lack of water with drip feed irrigation.

The most frequent grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Merlot, Shiraz also known as Syrah, Colombard and Muscat of Alexandria.

But, both Alkavi and Torgeman agree if warmer winters persist viticulturists may need to look to other varieties or completely change their produce to match the new weather conditions.

"If the temperature will be more high, I must to change my work in the vineyard, The meaning it is to take species that they have a good quality in the warm, warm weather. For example, maybe in more 10 years from today, maybe I can't to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, and then I must take a species that is give you a good quality in the warm, warm weather, for example Grenache or Carignan or some species like this. So, I must to change it, I must to take the Cabernet out and put a new variety in my place, Okay? And this is a meaning for the future of the warm weather," says Torgeman.