Global Warming’s Wrath on Grapes
By Gemma Brittle
Global Warming and drink consumption. Both have changed significantly through time, except it is not widely known that one can actually influence the other. A new study suggests that not only are the ice caps melting, extreme weather conditions occurring and some species becoming extinct, but fine Chardonnay is also declining in quality.
Prior to the recent studies, it was thought that global warming would only cause a mild impact on the US agricultural yields, however, this was not considering local changes, but considered the global situation. Further studies now show the importance for grapes to grow in a stable environment with a regular temperature in order to be suitable for use in the most premium wines. Ecological modeller Michael White of Utah State University in Logan and climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh of Purdue University of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, carried out a simulation concentrated on the US.
The results showed that the previous data for global change could not be relied upon, giving local bumps in temperature, which were not previously seen. These could rise in the near future which would have a great effect on the quality of our best wines. In some areas, which may only produce a premium grape harvest every 24 years, a flux in temperature to above 35 oC resulted in only 19 % of the total area of harvested grapes being suitable for use in the premium wines! And for regions that were more regular in their production of a premium crop, only 40% of the grapes on the harvested area were suitable.
90 % of wine grape production comes from California however by 2071 to 2099, only a narrow strip will remain, with much of the remaining wine grape production being shifted northward to a cooler area. However, this was only a first investigation and has not considered precipitation or humidity, which may continue to be problematic for wine grapes grown in wet northern areas.
Ecologist Christopher Field of the Carnegie Institution in Stanford, California hopes that it will help to change peoples' attitude towards global warming and make them aware of the extent to which it is occurring. He states, 'I think there is a growing appreciation of the fact that we experience climate change on a very local scale.'
Image courtesy of Matthew Maaskant - www.qr5.org
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