A year ago, a scientific report showed that global warming may create conditions that will be too warm for the traditional great wine regions of France and the United States to make great wine.
Scientists said that by the middle of this century, average temperatures will rise just enough to pose a hazard to the making of classic wines.
Does this mean that cabernet sauvignon will soon be planted in Wisconsin; chardonnay in Alaska; and that Napa is destined to become a tropical housing paradise for San Francisco commuters?
Now, if I tell you this story is from the Napa Valley Register, can you guess how they answer that last question?
On the other hand, here's a story from The Scotsman
(soon to be re-christened the Burgundian?)
Australia's dry threatens wine drought
The winding lines of shipping containers outside Casella Wines may mark the high-point of Australia's A$3 billion (1.2 billion pound) wine export market as drought and possible climate shift bite....MORE
I'm tellin' ya those 2005 Bordeaux's are looking better every week.
Update: I love open-access science! Everything funded by the taxpayer should be available to the folks who write the check.
Here's the paper from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science:
Extreme Heat Reduces and Shifts United States Premium Wine Production in the 21st Century
