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Climate Hot, Wine...Not?
by Ian Parnell, September 10, 2007
On a recent trip to the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia’s wine region, Carol and I marvelled at the multitude of new vineyards blanketing the valley’s fertile bench lands. Yes, the wine industry had certainly blossomed since our last visit and the area had a nice buzz, kind of like the north end of Napa Valley near Calistoga. Yet, as we sweltered under the June sun, a question kept nagging at me: how was the industry going to fair under the hotter temperatures and changing snow and rainfall patterns that climate change promises for this dry interior region?
Recent news stories about unexpected changes in wine production regions around the world brought this question back to mind, so I decided to explore it. I approached this task in two stages. First, I reviewed the climate impacts already afflicting three of the world’s major wine regions - Australia, Italy, and France – to learn about the problems their wine growers are facing and how they are adapting to them. Their experiences could provide some insight into what British Columbia growers can expect in the future. Second, I reviewed research on projected climate change impacts and adaptation in the Okanagan to see how it fits with the real experiences of the growers in the other regions. Here’s what I learned. More... |
