Study: Global warming to help Burgundy?

WINE TALK
1

Not sure if I buy this theory from climate scientists … global warming to “help” Bordeaux and Burgundy vintners by creating conditions for more early ripening fruit, which is associated with better vintages. Here’s a story by NPR about the just-released study. Discuss amongst yourselves [cheers.gif]

2

Certainly could prove better growing temperatures but the downside is it might increase the chance of destructive events like heavier rain or hail.

3

Why is this being discussed in the future tense. Hasn’t everything you guys are describing been occurring for at least 20-30 years now.

4

I just want to know if it can help Burgundy pricing… :angry:

5

I have read that there are experimental plots in Bordeaux, Burgundy, and even Germany to determine appropriate options for new grape varieties in the future as a result of Global Warming.

I don’t recall the other ones, but Germany was testing Syrah, among others.

6

Just commenting on whether warmer temperatures are a good thing. If hail starts taking out every vintage then I’d say it’s not good.

7

Do they need any help?

Just looked the other day at some wholesales pricing - geez!

8

Even accepting the global warming movement’s data as fact, I think the IPCC’s claim is that global temperatures have risen 0.85 degrees Celsius from 1880 to the present and about 0.74 degrees in the last 100 years. Does that really change wine ripening so dramatically?

It seems highly likely to me that vineyard, harvest and winemaking practices are causing a far bigger change in what you taste from the bottle than the tiny fraction of a percent temperatures have risen in the last 25-50 years.

9

It can because using averages can skew the reality of what’s happening. For example, if the average temp was 1 degree higher because the entire month of March was much warmer which caused earlier bud break then it’s a significant change. If the yearly average is higher because August is 100 degrees for 30 days straight then it’s significant.

If the actual daily temperature was only 1 degree for every day during the year then itd be unnoticeable most likely.

10

Nov, I think he meant in the negative direction, not more expensive.

11

Indeed, “average” could also mean 2.85 degrees hotter every day of summer and 2 degrees colder in winter, or most days unchanged on average with some proportion exceptionally warmer than before. Similarly “global” could mean half the world is 3.5 degrees warmer, the other half 2.65 colder.

And that’s just considering temperature in isolation, without regard to precipitation, snow cover, amplitude of storms etc.

“Global average temperatures” seems about as helpful to understanding a specific region/vineyard as global average soil composition.

12

Yes, I was speaking in the first person… how will it help ME?! :stuck_out_tongue:

13

All moot anyway since according to most of the prospective presidential candidates there’s no such thing as global warming and they must be right since presumably they’re all intelligent and well-informed people.

14

It’s important to note that Europe is warm for its latitude due to south to north ocean current. That current occasionally changes, which could easily spurred by a change in polar ice melt.