Is climate change good for Tasmanian wine? Here's what research says

A new study from French researchers published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment found if global temperatures rose above 2 degrees, the traditional inland regions of Australia might become unsuitable for wine production.

But Tasmania would benefit from the warmer temperatures - offering more favourable conditions for "premium wine production".

Westella Vineyard owner Will Adkins said historically, the Tamar Valley had been a "very good place" to grow things.

"It's part of the reason we decided to plant a vineyard here, it's got consistent temperatures and rainfall at certain times of the year," Mr Adkins said.

"What we're really noticing over the past few years is that there's a certain level of changeability about our climate; we've had such a warm, dry summer that we're picking our grapes a couple weeks ahead of normal."

Mr Adkins and his wife, Jacquie opened their cellar door last year, and Mr Adkins said he believed warmer temperatures would open up parts of Tasmania to grape growing.

"The temperature is one thing but one big factor that you've got to be very mindful of when you grow grapes in Tasmania is the risk of frost," Mr Adkins said.

"That's a real killer, but I have no doubt we're going to see grapes spread to other parts of the state that we might not otherwise have seen in the past.

"There were studies done 40 or 50 years ago that said you could never grow grapes in Tasmania, full stop."

The new research found Tasmania in particular showed higher potential for premium wine production, both in moderate and severe warming scenarios.

Wine Tasmania chief executive Sheralee Davies said good growing climates varied around the state.

"Being such a lumpy island, where you are can impact quite significantly on a range of things including climate," Ms Davies said.

"But if we look at Tasmania by comparison to interstate or international wine regions, we are in that cool, maritime climate.

"So even though we've got quite a degree of variability of climate around the island, we are much cooler than many other wine regions and that's why when it comes to a changing climate, we are reasonably insulated from some of the extremes of temperatures."

She said vineyards were very vulnerable to changing climates.

"We talk a bit about vineyards being like the canary down the gold goldmine - they are incredibly sensitive to the smallest variation in temperature," Ms Davies said.

"For quite some time now, our wine producers have been looking at the impact of changing climate and making sure that they are adapting.

"A big part of that is before you even plant your vineyard, thinking about the site that you're choosing, and thinking about changes that might occur well into the future."