12/16/09

Wine, Whine, and Agricultural Change

There have been several articles lately discussing wine production and climate change.  The English wine makers are excited about the warmer temperatures allowing them to produce more complex red wines.  The French are crying over their percieved loss of winemaking dominance.

What neither seem to realize is this is not the first time, nor will it be the last where changes in climate patterns force a change in land use.  I grew up in Southwest Colorado.  I have seen more cliff dwellings and kivas from Ancient Pueblo Peoples (we always called them Anasazi, but that isn't politically correct anymore) than anyone probably should.  The question that was always asked is, "Where did they go and why did they leave?"  The where did they go has been a tough question to answer, but the why did they leave...not so much.

Drought and changes in growing season length forced these folks to move elsewhere.  So the French can whine and the English can cheer, but nothing new is happening here.

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