As a result many vintners have committed to extensive and expensive program to ward off the worst effects, at a time when a United Nations report released this week warns that the world, especially richer carbon polluting nations, remains “far behind” and is doing very little to reach any of the global goals limiting future warming.
To gauge just how serious and diverse the effects might be, I interviewed Philadelphia-based wine writer Brian Freedman about his important new book Crushed: How a Changing Climate Is Altering the Way We Drink (Rowman & Littlefield).
When most people think of climate change they think of global warming. But in terms of some vineyards in some parts of the world, that’s a good thing?
In southeastern England, for example, a warming climate is allowing growers there to ripen not just Chardonnay but also Pinot Noir more reliably than in the past. One of the producers I spoke with for the book was even able to bottle a still, red Pinot Noir, which would have been unheard of a generation ago. It's not something he thinks will happen all that often in the short term, but the fact that it did is remarkable. Of course, parts of England hit 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) this past summer, which is terrible for vines, people, everything. And there are now wines being made further south in Patagonia than ever before, and even in Northern Europe, which is fascinating.
The timetable for disaster has increasingly moved up. How are vintners in the forefront of battling climate change?
Many grape growers and winemakers around the world are making serious efforts to farm in a more sustainable manner, to plant vines that are more suited to the changing conditions in their specific locations, to find ways to pivot from the received wisdom of the past in light of the dramatically changing conditions of the present. A winemaker once told me that it's a bit easier for chefs, since they have a new chance every night to succeed, but winemakers have one chance a year, maybe 50 vintages over the course of a long career. That puts even more pressure on them to accept that climate change is not something to pretend isn't happening, and instead find ways to modify existing practices, if necessary, to ensure a successful future.
Is it now possible to theoretically make wine almost anywhere on earth because of technological advances?
There are extremes of climate where vines just won't grow, and if they do, they won't ripen any kind of usable fruit. I don't see any Antarctic Albariño any time soon coming to a store near you. But as the north and south extremes are warming, the range of locations for growing wine grapes is expanding. And technological advances make it possible to produce pleasant wine from all kinds of grapes. The question, however, is what is wine? Is it just fermented grape juice, or is it an expression of a particular patch of the planet as seen through that fermented grape juice.
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