Author(s):
Kimberly Nicholas Cahill* - Stanford University
Abstract:
I take an interdisciplinary approach to examine the climate sensitivity and adaptive capacity of both the ecological and social systems of winegrowing. In a three-year study, I used field, laboratory, modeling, and anthropological approaches to examine the vulnerability of the wine industry to climate change. I identified seasonal temperature and light conditions driving the chemical composition of Pinot noir grapes across a range of mesoclimates. Although wine quality is widely viewed as vulnerable to climate change, previously it has been poorly defined. Using grower responses from semi-structured interviews, I developed a typology of wine quality spanning a range of scientific and artistic values, which may be used to help refine and improve future analyses. These interviews also reveal that growers believe wine quality is most importantly influenced by site factors such as climate, demonstrating the sensitivity of wine quality to climate change.
Growers undertake a wide variety of vineyard management strategies in response to environmental stresses. Most of these responses are individual in nature, and either in response to an existing stress, or in anticipation of an imminent stress. I examine the potential adaptive capacity of the wine industry to climate change, based on its awareness of climate change, ability to react, and actual actions and barriers to action. I conclude that winegrowers have a fairly high adaptive capacity, but that successful adaptation in practice depends on including proactive and coordinated community responses, which are beginning to develop.
