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Hundreds of wine industry experts attended the 2019 Climate Change Leadership Conference - Solutions for the Wine Industry, whose final day included the 2nd Porto Summit, with former US Vice President and Nobel Laureate, Al Gore, as keynote speaker.

Gore underlined the need to respond to the “global emergency” of climate change and said that watching news about massive wildfires in major wine-producing territories - such as Portugal and California - felt like ‘something out of the Book of Revelation’.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing wine producers and a key concern for wine consumers.

During the 3-day event, held between March 5-7 in Porto, experts discussed how the wine industry can play a key role in conserving the planet’s resources – including water, topsoil, forests, biodiversity and clean oceans.

The event was organized by the Fladgate Partnership, owner of Taylor’s and Croft Port houses, and its sponsors included Corticeira Amorim.

Experts attending included Margareth Henriquez of Krug, Katie Jackson of Jackson Family Wines, Miguel Torres of Bodegas Torres, Gilles Descôtes of Bollinger and wine climatologist Greg Jones.

The Conference sessions identified numerous strategies implemented by wineries and vineyards to help increase sustainability and combat climate change, such as water-saving technologies, renewable energy initiatives, biodiversity programmes and California’s first ‘Self Sustainable Winery’ at UC Davis.