Wineries Prepare for Change
"Global warming is on everyone's radar," says viticulturist Franci Ashton of her colleagues in California's winegrowing industry. Small wonder: The quality and taste of wine depend utterly on the soil and climate conditions in which the grapes are grown—a concept known as terroir.
Scientists predict that global warming will bring higher temperatures, more heat waves and less precipitation, changes that could transform the state's $15 billion wine industry. (Wine Institute, 2004)
For example, Ashton's employer, Etude Wines, is known for its pinot noir—a notoriously difficult-to-grow varietal made famous by the movie Sideways. The pinots produced by Etude and other winemakers depend on the climate of Napa and Sonoma's famed Carneros region. It lies just north of San Francisco Bay and benefits from its moderating ocean breezes.
Eventually, says Ashton, places where pinot and chardonnay are currently grown may no longer work because the cool climate they require may no longer exist.
Water shortages on the horizon?
Water has an enormous impact on grape cultivation, and changes to the water supply are a likely consequence of global warming. Water is high on the mind of David Graves, co-founder of Saintsbury Vineyards, which is developing a plan to use recycled water from sanitation districts for its irrigation.
"One of the big problems that might present itself would be volatility of water supply," says Graves. "When I read about things like the drought in the Grain Belt this year, that’s scary. If periods of drought become longer and more severe, that’s where I start to think the recycled water issue becomes a way to have a kind of insurance policy."
Ashton says she and others are also starting to consider scarce water resources. "We're looking into research that could help us become more efficient in our irrigation," says Ashton. "We’re asking 'How much water do we need to maintain our wine quality?' We're worried that our current viticultural practices may become obsolete."
Preparing for drought is a wise business choice. From 1998 to 2004, below-normal precipitation and high temperatures led to the most severe drought in the western U.S. in 80 years and one of the most severe in 500 years. Global warming is expected to bring on more frequent and severe droughts.
Innovative farming techniques cut pollution
In addition to preparing for warmer climes, wineries, like all agricultural businesses, have a unique opportunity to help fight global warming by storing carbon. No-till agriculture eschews traditional practices that disrupt the soil and release its stored carbon into the air as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the key heat-trapping gases that lead to global warming. More growers are practicing no-till farming, which involves minimal soil cultivation and keeps more carbon in the ground.
"It used to be a lot more common to see clean-tilled vineyards," says Graves. "Now we have a lot of no-till."
Graves estimates the amount of non-tilled acreage has increased by a factor of 10 in Napa. The practice has many benefits. It's really good on hillsides for preventing erosion. It helps water infiltration because the roots sit in healthier, microbial-rich soils. And it naturally keeps out pests.
Fetzer Wineries, in Southern Mendicino County, uses cover crops to attain similar soil improvements. Planted between rows of grapes are red clover, daikon radishes and grasses that set nitrogen into the soil. During the dry months from June to November, the stubble left after mowing provides habitat for spiders and other predators that eat grapevine-eating critters—natural alternatives to pesticides and herbicides.
Other ways to fight climate change
"The wine industry in itself is being pretty proactive about becoming environmentally sensitive and sustainable," says Patrick Healy, Fetzer's environmental manager. A number of wineries, including Rodney Strong and St. Francis, are embracing solar power, an optimum choice for sunny California. Fetzer has a 40-kw solar display on its administration building that powers about three-quarters of the building.
Fetzer is one of the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders. That means the company is working in partnership with the government to develop long-term climate strategies. Additionally, starting in 1999, Fetzer participated in a greenhouse gas emissions study to set benchmarks for heat-trapping pollution ion the industry. To reduce its emissions, Fetzer buys green electricity and uses biodiesel in all its tractors and half its big rigs.
"We have lots of efficiency and conservation goals here," says Patrick Healy, Fetzer’s environmental manager. As a result, the company says, its electricity emissions are net zero.
In addition to the biodiesel and green energy, the winery avoids using electricity during peak demand hours. From May through usually some time in August, when the crush starts, "we turn off refrigeration between 12 and 6—that's our biggest single energy sink at the winery," says Healy, who adds, "We wouldn't do it if it threatened the quality of the wine at all."
What You Can Do
Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming.
Sources
Economic Impact of California Wine - 2004. Wine Institute. (See press release: www.wineinstitute.org/communications/statistics/Sales2004-2.htm.)