A toast to climate change
Warmer weather boosts northern wineries
BY Wendy Glauser
Illustration by Swizzle: Rob Elliot
Some of the most interesting environmental news items can be found in the business press. Here’s one for the “scary, but strangely positive” file. The March 2006 issue of Canadian Business magazine reports that wine production in Nova Scotia is taking off due to unprecedented high winter temperatures and a longer growing season—the result of global warming.
The small province is currently home to 10 wineries, but that number is expected to double over the next decade. (The more traditional Canadian wine-growing regions of B.C. and Ontario have nearly 300 wineries combined.)
While Nova Scotia celebrates its new industry, the future is less rosy for grape growers in places such as California and Australia. Premium U.S. wine-growing regions are heading north, according to studies cited in the CB piece, while the 1.7 degree temperature increase expected in Australia over the next two decades will be too much for many of the country’s grape varieties to withstand.
More proof from Mother Nature that a little temperature change can make a big difference when it comes to food security.
