As if things weren't bad enough...

Earlier today I wasn't sufficiently depressed about the current state of the world that I forced myself to read a paper I came across, The Impact of Climate Change on the Global Wine Industry: Challenges and Solutions by Michelle Renee Mozell and Liz Thach (Wine Economics and Policy. 2014; 3:81-89). The paper paints a none-to-rosy future for the wine industry world-wide. To make a long story short, climate change will fundamentally impact where and how wine grapes can be grown; major changes are already underway (most wine regions are already seeing earlier bud break, veraison and harvests) and, given current trends in climatic warming and CO2 accumulation, will have marked impacts by 2050. Some of the major findings reported:

• Current premium grape growing regions may become unsuitable in whole or in part for wine production. For example, Napa and Santa Barbara counties may lose upwards of 50% of current acreage and vast areas of Europe's Mediterranean coastline including Italy, Greece and France, may become "completely inhospitable to grape production by 2050."
• Entirely new wine regions closer to the poles may become suitable for vitis vinifiera; think Yellowstone, the Yukon and "God save the Queen," England. (Another study I read puts a downer on this possibility, saying that shifting grape growing to these northern latitudes would have a negative impact on the amount of wilderness, local water supplies and wildlife habitat)
• Water consumption in current wine growing regions will likely increase significantly as farmers attempt to keep their crops cool.
• Traditional regions like Burgundy and Bordeaux may have to change over to entirely new varietals to continue to grow grapes as a warming climate will make it impossible for them to grow current varietals.
• Given the uneven effects of climate change some areas will be colder (risk of incomplete ripening with higher acid and lower sugar content) and some hotter (risk of low acid, high sugar, cooked flavors) challenging the skills of winemakers
• The risk of crop damaging extreme weather events will increase.
• Rising sea levels will flood some of the world's best known wine producing areas, like Bordeaux, Carneros and New Zealand.
• The range of insect pests like the glassy winged sharpshooter, the cause of Pierce's disease, powdery mildew and the European Grapevine Moth will expand northward.
• The quality of oak used in wine barrels will deteriorate leading to more frequent barrel failure.

To be balanced I have to state that the paper also presents a range of possible solutions to deal with these problems which you can read if you are interested. In any case, climatic challenges to the wine industry may eventually make dealing with the three tiered distribution system seem like child's play. So here's to hoping that we will have good wine to taste in class today!