

How Climate Change Will Change the Wine Industry - samclemens
http://www.buzzfeed.com/sandraeallen/how-climate-change-will-end-wine-as-we-know-it?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Longform+1123&utm_content=Longform+1123+CID_d3769d87ff5cbaf21243ca6932f4b0f2&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=says%20a%20lot%20about%20the%20future%20of%20agriculture

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glenra
In double-blind tests by experts, wines from France are often beaten by wines
from Napa or even New Jersey. The results between one region and another are
statistically indistinguishable.

[http://www.newyorker.com/tech/frontal-cortex/does-all-
wine-t...](http://www.newyorker.com/tech/frontal-cortex/does-all-wine-taste-
the-same)

[http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-
tas...](http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-
science-analysis)

So yes, if over time regional temperatures change then it is likely the center
mass of grape-growing may move a little pole-ward. Existing grape-growers will
adapt by either growing different grapes or changing the way they grow their
current grapes.

This is also true for corn. And wheat. That also will move north a little bit
and favor different strains over time.

And yes, the resulting subtle changes due to localized fog, minerals in the
soil or farming expertise might indeed modify the taste or other
characteristics of the resulting wine. Or corn. Or wheat.

But whatever bizarre characteristics we choose to attribute to wines based on
what valley they come from isn't set in stone. The people who now claim to
especially prize (when they see the label) a certain wine grown in a certain
year in a certain valley in Bordeaux could just as easily decide tomorrow to
feel the same way about a _different_ wine grown in that valley, or about a
new wine grown in Tasmania.

Much of the nuance attributed to wine is a delusion; there is no deep social
need to humor the delusional.

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biomechanica
This year's growing season was absolutely hideous for me. Everything was
either ripe too early or didn't have enough time to produce. I even had a late
frost that killed off a lot my more vulnerable crops.

I decided to try out indoor growing down in the basement. I purchased some LED
300W lights and 2 90W LED's. They're working better than I expected but the
challenge now is temperature control, water and nutrient levels.

I'm going to be testing out a grape vine, actually. I'm not sure how well
it'll hold up. It will be a soil based solution though, I think.

Hard times.

P.S Mushrooms are pretty easy to grow and sell quite well.

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terravion
I noticed that the majority of California's production isn't even in a current
or future zone on the map of California in the article. The Central Valley has
several single companies that farm more acres than the Napa Valley has in
total--and those acres produce more per acre than Napa.

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lukeHeuer
Wine regions that can sell at a premium, like Napa, do things like crop
thinning to intentionally reduce yield per acre and increase quality. Other
regions like Central Valley that can't sell at a premium go for bulk and tend
to skip this step.

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markvdb
Small wineries are popping up everywhere in Belgium, the beer country. A
positive effect of the climate change disaster. Too bad producing nice red
wine is still problematic.

I can 100% recommend Chardonnay Meerdael sparkling white wine though!.

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pbreit
So, where to buy? Mendocino? Sierra hills?

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davidw
Oregon looks pretty good on their map. I wish they had a more detailed version
of it - I'd be curious to see their predictions for Europe.

