Full article
Also the link to my friend David Crossley’s blog that the Observer Journalist used as part of their research
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Thanks for the articles, Russell! It’s incredibly sad it has to be like this. There should be a greater protection offered to those working with the least of tools, to create the purest— especially now, as Benoit points out, that nearly every second year is a frost year.
Incredible article, but a very sad and depressing affair..
Really good article, and good to see a spotlight on an underwritten topic. Thanks for sharing.
Really tragic. I was just thinking the other day that CA hasn’t yet hit rock bottom yet. People I know in the biz are very depressed and have little hope of a quick turnaround.
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There’s a strong tie to the vines in anyone who is directly connected to them. In 2020 the fires left us little question that the wines would be damaged, but it’s not a visual thing that you can see.
In 2022 the freeze at budbreak was emotionally the most difficult time for me in 25 years of doing this. I really can’t describe it but it is incredibly visceral, and incredibly difficult to deal with. I can’t fathom having it happen every other year.
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While an interesting - and somewhat depressing - piece, I found some elements quite odd. For example talking about Burgundy and suddenly we change to Bordeaux.
And what about this:
Climate change will not mean a total collapse in the wine industry. In fact, it has some benefits: higher summer temperatures typically mean lighter, lower-alcohol wines that suit modern palates and drinking styles.
…what??
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Being mesmerized by a bottle of by Benoit Germain’s Domaine de Saux is one of my greatest wine privileges.
“One can only hope for better times ahead”.
Indeed.
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Are wineries more risky businesses than other types of businesses? My guess is that the answer is no - that businesses like restaurants, retail stores and even tech companies fail at a much higher rate. It is sad when any business goes under. I had friends who lost retail businesses during the pandemic.
I wonder if the suicide rate is higher for winery owners would be at a higher rate that would be predicted by failure rates compared with failure rates for other businesses. Could be because in many cases winery owners are losing land that has been in their families for generations. This could be particularly hard (letting down ancestors) but that is also true for owners of other types of family farms and many types of retail businesses (over the years, many retail businesses have closed when Walmart came to town, for example).
All of this is very sad, but I don’t see it getting better. In many parts of the world, wine consumption has been going down for a long time, especially for “peasant” wines as customers move to cities, etc., and no longer drink a couple of bottles of wine for lunch.
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Posts about this topic should come with a standard warning and link.
If you are feeling suicidal, you are not alone and there is support available. You deserve to feel supported.
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