By Tara Thomas Originally Posted December 20th 2017
Why aren’t winemakers jumping at opportunities to buy land in areas predicated to become prime wine growing regions in the near future? It’s simple – consumers need wine now. Before anyone is moving out of town, folks had an interesting discussion during the, “Tasting Climate Change,” conference in Montreal – Marla Priest
One of the presenters, Gregory Jones, an environmental scientist who runs the wine department at Linfield College in Oregon, has predicted that climate changes in the Pacific Northwest could open up areas previously unsuitable for Vitis vinifera—like, for instance, the islands of Puget Sound.
In a lead-up to the conference, Jones considered the shifting climate of his home state. Even the most conservative prediction over the next 50 years forecasts warming of at least one degree Celsius—enough, Jones says, to move much of Oregon’s Willamette Valley out of Region I on the Winkler Index (the coolest viable climate for pinot noir and chardonnay) and into a Region II climate, more accommodating to a range of varieties. So why, then, are the warmer southern AVAs of Oregon the fastest-developing winegrowing regions in the state? Why aren’t more people seeking the areas on the edges of Region I?
“Economics,” Jones replied when I called him at Linfield. “You know what southern Oregon’s biggest crop is? Pinot noir. Because of Willamette. Southern Oregon can ripen grapes at a higher tonnage, so they can sell at lower prices. If you have a high-end producer that wants a $15 pinot, you can’t do that with Willamette fruit.” The flow of grapes from the south is considerable, he says.“This time of year you see a lot of 18-wheelers headed north with fruit.”
But there’s more to it. It’s also about water.
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