WINE AND GLOBAL WARMING

If you have not yet been alarmed by the prospect of global warming (or climate change), an article in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimates that if climate change proceeds as projected, wine growing regions will be reduced by 80% by the year 2100. Southern Spain is already being affected. Places like Napa and southern France are imperiled. In fact, according to one article, some think Napa is already too hot for premium grapes. The temperature has risen 5 degrees in Napa over the past 75 years and if it had not already been planted with vineyards, one expert would advise people not to plant one now. Often grapes must be harvested at night when it is cooler. Of course, there are always positive and negative impacts from most events. Many wine regions have been producing better grapes in recent years because of warmer temperatures, but that is likely to be short-lived. England now has many wineries for the first time since the 1300's due to the warming. If Napa goes, some of the regions with potential to replace it are British Columbia's Okanagan valley, Washington's Puget Sound area, upstate New York and Long Island, Michigan's coastal zone and Virginia.

Update: 12/26/21: CBS 60 Minutes just did a show on this very topic 15 years after this post. They spoke with wineries in France whose yields are plummeting but quality is increasing. Also, sparkling wine in England is growing like crazy and is now one of the fastest growing wine regions in the world!