Paper:Climate Change Threatens Wineries(multibillion-dollar U.S. industry)

[Kadie]

Paper: Climate Change Threatens Wineries

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
32 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Climate warming could spell disaster for much of the multibillion-dollar U.S. wine industry. Areas suitable for growing premium wine grapes could be reduced by 50 percent — and possibly as much as 81 percent — by the end of this century, according to a study Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The paper indicates increasing weather problems for grapes in such areas as California's Napa and Sonoma valleys.

The main problem: An increase in the frequency of extremely hot days, according to Noah Diffenbaugh of the department of earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue University.

Grapes used in premium wines need a consistent climate. When temperatures top about 95 degrees they have problems maintaining photosynthesis and the sugars in the grapes can break down, Diffenbaugh said in a telephone interview.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060710/ap_on_sc/climate_change_wine_1

[niyad]

1. first the air and water, then my chocolate, and now my wine??? this is

truly even more depressing than I thought.

[Turbineguy]

6. By the end of this century

I'll have given up drinking.

[MADem]

2. Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!! Nooooooooooooooooooo!

We MUST stop global warming NOW!!!!

Hell, if it affected beer production, there'd probably be a GOP initiated Constitutional Amendment against it....!!!

[Warren DeMontague]

16. No, they'll only get worried when nativity scenes on public property start

to melt.

[shain from kane]

3. Sounds like a little whine. n/t

[Joanne98]

4. BWAAAAAAAA!!!!! Napa Valley. Republican territory!!!!!!!

[BeeBee]

8. Sonoma County = Democrat Territory n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

14. And so is Napa County. You're talking Lynn Woolsey (my rep) vs.

Mike Thompson. Neither is anything close to a Republican.

[DUHandle]

15. Australia = Trade Surplus

their red wines, they make me want a walk about.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Bwwww....WHAT?

Um, The densely populated ares of Northern California are pretty friggin' blue. Including Napa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_2004,_in_California

[MadHound]

5. It's not just wineries either

If we continue to get milder and milder winters, our fruit tree crops are going to be screwed. Various types of fruit trees need varying amounts of chill time, ie below freezing. Slowly but surely this is going away, and when things heat up too much, well we're not going to have any apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, etc.

Scaring the shit out of me and other orchardists.

[niyad]

9. and now they are planting olive trees in devon!!

[Lisa]

22. and the waves of new pathogens ...

Practically every year they find some pest which has either recently arrived, or which has been here all along but thrives under warmer temperatures. It's that way for grain and vegetables, so I suspect that orchards will have these problems too. Just what we don't need, when the crops are already going to be stressed (and in many places, water-deprived).

Canada will be kissing the Okanagan goodbye, at this rate.

[hatrack]

7. Don't worry - Tom Brokaw will rescue us in his hydrogen fuel cell car

While we bypass the soft bigotry of low expectations to lift every willing heart with voluntary guildelines that will lower our greenhouse gas intensity and protect America's economy while clean coal technology puts food on our families!

[sendero]

10. What about..

... barley? :evilgrin:

[Double T]

11. Better clear a spot in the basement and start stock piling........

immediately.

[datadiva]

12. It's San Joaquin valley also

and not just the heat. We are having earlier Springs. Too much water in the spring and too hot summers. My boss lost 500 cherry trees. Not in production yet. Took a heavy loss. I think it is going to get much much worse.

[Warren DeMontague]

17. I adivse filling the basement with cases of "Two Buck Chuck" right away.

http://www.traderjoes.com/new/chuckshaw.asp

Trader Joe's kicks ass!

[MADem]

18. You know who makes that stuff? The boxwine king FRANZIA

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/02/eveningnews/main556620.shtml

I love this guy--he takes the right attitude--wine is FOOD:

There's also the story that Charles Shaw is a bighearted billionaire who wanted to expose the proletariat to the finer things in life.

Actually, it's an over-abundance of grapes that's made Charles Shaw cheap to bottle -- an estimated 5 million cases so far. It's easily outselling more famous brands like Mondavi and Gallo in California.

And Charles Shaw?

It's a wine label owned by Fred Franzia, a distant relative on the Gallo family vine. He's a reclusive businessman considered a pain in the neck to California's wine establishment.

Franzia controls scores of brands and labels including Charles Shaw that under-sell the prestige vineyards. And "Two Buck Chuck" is just his latest broadside: "We have others up our sleeve we think are even better coming out."

He also controls more than 30 square miles of California vineyards. And he thinks big. Next he plans to take on invading Australian wine makers.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/02/eveningnews/main556620.shtml

[Warren DeMontague]

19. The irony of all this is, it all happened well after I quit drinking.

If there had been a reasonably drinkable wine on the market for $2 a bottle back in my drinking days, Jesus.. I would have been all over it.

It's probably for the best, actually. :party:

[devilgrrl]

20. How about the Maple syrup industry?

As if climate change doesn't effect that. :shrug:

[MADem]

21. Quick, if we start planting maple trees in the Artic circle, we may

be able to enjoy our Northern Canadian wheat pancakes with Arctic Maple Syrup.

The polar bears can lie down to die under the trees.....

[Lisa]

23. definitely ...

If the outlook for Quebec is negative (both in the short-term, as the freeze/thaw cycles get messed up, and in the longer term, as forest composition changes) -- the areas further south, like Vermont, are going to be hit even harder.


http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/english/affect/prov_territory/quebec.asp

http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/cchange/globalwarming.html

"According to the NERA report, New England and New York produce 20 percent of the world's maple syrup. Researchers have concluded that warmer temperatures will reduce the sap tapping season and the quality of the syrup. This will have serious impacts on states such as Vermont, whose maple syrup industry (equipment, manufacturing, packaging and retail sales) creates 4,000 seasonal jobs and over $100 million for the state economy."

[CK_John]

24. Not just wine, the corn crop in upstate NY has been wiped out

in large parts of the northeast from heavy rains and flooding. I assume that the corn region in the midwest will become useless as the climate changes. This does not look good for bio-fuel development in the midwest.

We should not be planning on the way the climate is today and wrap an energy policy around something that may not be available in the near term.