Don't get too attached to your favorite wine. Climate change is upending the centuries-old industry in North Carolina

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir are all historic grapes that have been around for centuries, but could soon become scarce thanks to global warming.

Climate scientists and grape farmers say that the effects of climate change on North Carolina's wine industry could be permanent.

"The Chardonnay that was grown years ago is the same that's grown today," said Max Lloyd, who's been farming grapes in North Carolina and Virginia for the past 30 years.

Grapes crops need overnight cool temperatures to foster, as well as warm conditions during the day, according to Walter Robinson, co-director of North Carolina State University's Climate Change & Society Program.

North Carolina farmers are struggling to grow fruit as weather conditions have become more erratic.

As the climate warms, overnight temperatures will continue to rise. The grapes will bloom earlier, thinking it's spring when it's not. Then those crops are hit with a freeze only a couple weeks later, which can destroy a vineyard's harvest, Robinson said.

Jennifer Foulides, owner of Silver Fork Winery in Morganton, said she's worried about the future of the industry after her vineyard harvested 70% less this year when compared to the previous year.

Vineyards from across North Carolina's billion-dollar wine industry are reporting similar loses.

Lyndon Smith, a fruit farmer who owns a cidery and winery, said that this past season, he's only been able to make a third of the wine and cider that he did before. The same issues impacting grapes are also affecting apples, he said.

"For a majority of our grape production, we're relying on other vineyards," he said. "There's not a whole lot available, especially not high-quality stuff."

Smith's fruit production has fallen by 50% this year, he said.

Other owners, like Lloyd, are not feeling too discouraged. New research shows that there are all different sorts of hybrid grapes that could sustain the wine industry, just none of them have the name recognition that older wines do.

Those hybrid grapes have genetic changes that make them more climate hardy.

"Wine is a huge industry, all over the world," Robinson said. "If it's too hot or too dry, wine growers will succeed in other regions."

Where you buy your favorite wines is also starting to change, Lloyd said. Rather than buying Pinot Noir from France, you may start to buy it from Oregon.

"This thought that you can only drink historic wine from historic areas will have to [change]," Lloyd said. "If the quality is there, the consumer will follow."

Some wineries in North Carolina are focusing on making wine using muscadine grapes, which are native to North Carolina.

"We're going to have to get accustomed to drinking different varieties than there are now," Smith said.

Preston Williams, farmer and owner of a vineyard in Norlina, said he doesn't think customers will have any problem adjusting to the sweeter wines. He has found success in blending sweet and dry wines together.

"Wine drinkers are adaptable people," he said. "[Get] real dry wine and put a little sweet in it to bring it up to down to wherever you want to match your palette."

Williams, who recently joined the wine industry, says his family-ran business also makes money by using their farm as an event space.

"What we utilize is the beauty of the vines and the fruit. So we can get the beauty. We can deal with the lack of fruit, because we can always purchase juice or purchase grapes from other growers, as long as we can get the beautiful [vines,] people are coming to our events," he said.