[extropy-chat] warmer weather = better wine

[Spike]

Some folks talk about global warming like its a BAD thing.


Global warming linked to wine quality

                  Monday, November 17, 2003 Posted: 10:05 AM EST (1505
GMT)

                  YAKIMA, Washington (AP) -- Global
                  warming may become a worldwide
                  catastrophe, but at least the wine
                  should be better. 

                  Researchers from three U.S. universities
                  have found that vintages improved as
                  temperatures rose over the past 50 years,
                  especially in areas with cooler climates.
                  The findings could prove troublesome for
                  vineyards in traditionally warmer regions. 

                  "When you talk to grape growers and
                  winemakers today, they will still tell you
                  climate is the final player in how good a
                  vintage will be," said Gregory Jones,
                  Southern Oregon University climatologist
                  and co-author of the report. "We are going
                  to continue to see a warming
                  environment, and there will be some
                  challenges the industry will have to meet
                  one way or another." 

                  Jones joined researchers from Utah State University
and the University of Colorado
                  to study 27 renowned wine regions in nine different
countries. Using vintage rating
                  system devised by Sotheby's auction house, they found
that most vintages improved
                  as vineyards' temperatures rose an average of 1.3
degrees Celsius over the past 50
                  years. 

                  The effects were strongest in cool climate regions,
such as the Mosel and Rhine
                  valleys of Germany, suggesting warmer temperatures
offer the greatest advantage to
                  cold-climate grape-growing regions. 

                  The findings will be published in a future issue of
the journal Climatic Change. 

                  A predicted rise of another 2 degrees Celsius over the
next half century could have
                  more mixed results, the study showed. 

                  Cooler climates, such as Oregon, Washington and
British Columbia, could continue
                  to benefit from global warming. 

                  But regions with warmer climates, such as Italy's
famed Chianti region, could see
                  grapes ripen too quickly under ever warmer
temperatures. Grapes that ripen too
                  quickly on the vine generally have higher sugar
content, which produces more
                  alcoholic wine with less acidity and balance. 

                  Rising temperatures may force growers to manage vines
differently to produce
                  similar wine styles, or to plant different varieties
better suited to the changing
                  climate, Jones said. 

                  The news could be unsettling for an industry that
prides itsel f on regional identity
                  and reputation. 

                  Andrew Walker, a professor of viticulture at the
University of California at Davis,
                  agrees rising temperatures are leading to changes in
the industry. 

                  Whether those changes will be permanent remains to be
seen, he said. 

                  "I think everyone agrees in most scientific circles
that change is occurring. What that
                  change is, is still up in the air," he said. "We'll
have to sort of adapt on the fly. If it
                  really is catastrophic and not just a blip, vintners
will definitely change how they plan
                  and where they plant." 

                  The extreme heat wave in Europe this summer, which
some experts blamed on
                  global warming, offers an example, Jones said. 

                  "In some areas, it could have been very detrimental.
Southern Italy, Greece are
                  hard-pressed to produce any good wine this year,"
Jones said. "But southern
                  England? It may be their best vintage since prior to
the little Ice Age." 

                  Others argue the effects of rising temperatures on the
wine industry are simply a very
                  narrow picture of a broader problem. 

                  "There's a heck of a lot more at stake here than
wine," said K.C. Golden, policy
                  director for the Olympia-based nonprofit Climate
Solutions. "It is a sign that climate
                  disruption is going to affect every aspect of our
lives -- our ecosystems, our
                  economies, our livelihood."