Five ways California vintners are weathering climate change
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 24, 2008 at 5:34 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
The Arctic ice cap is almost gone and glaciers are melting. European wineries are dealing with warmer temperatures, drought and changes in rain and weather patterns, yet while many California wineries are taking many steps to reduce their carbon footprint, most don’t seem overly concerned about how climate changes will affect their wines. The reason is fairly simple. They’re not seeing anything they aren’t already dealing with.
While local wine grape growers have been buffeted from global warming by the Pacific Ocean, they’ve been reacting to other climate changes for years. “Climate change isn’t just global warming,” warns climate expert Greg Jones from Southern Oregon University. “While some areas are getting hotter, others are experiencing weather extremes and variability.”
He adds: “Most (growers) in California are not doing much in terms of adaptation because the thresholds in many ways have not been met. However, if we fall into a prolonged drought, then watch the change.”
In Northern California Wine Country, growers are seeing unusual and extreme weather rather than significant warming.
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
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