As the realities of global climate change continue to be embraced by the incoming political heirarchy, so the ways of combating these effects will continue to develop and hopefully provide us with answers to these life-threatening forces which are currently at work.  Whether you are recently being made aware of these effects through the global media, or have known about them for some time, the mindset must be the same: the situation is dire.  However, it is within our power to at least make the effort to change, to innovate, to once again prove that necessity is the mother of invention.  The world of wine does not exist in a bubble, the effects of global warming are at this moment being closely scrutinized by the powers that be.  Global entities that are at the helm of multi-nationals as well as small time producers are closely watching weather patterns and adjusting their forecasts accordingly.  However, there are many factors that come into play when it comes to global viticulture.  Part of the problem with any agricultural endeavor is a lack of resources. Who determines who is going to get the lion's share of water? Who, in fact, determines who will be able to develop and maintain the mass tracts of land that are required to maintain a global wine concern?  While these questions may appear self-evident (those with the money) I believe that it is not always so easy.

 

Vandana Shiva, a recipient of the right livelihood award, the alternative Nobel Peace Prize has said, "Whether it is ecological devastation or the destruction of diverse systems of knowledge, economic organization, and cultural patterns, the source is a common one; it lies in the dominant worldview that falsely universalizes the values, priorities, and truths of a small, privileged group based on class, gender, ethnicity or religion."   Unfortunately, rural populations have traditionally been hit hardest by this situation.  Land-based societies have been at the crux of the economy since the beginnings of civilization. As we've become more 'advanced,' these societies have continued to be marginilazed to the point where they, as well as the land they come from are at the tipping point.  Wine growing societies have traditionally valued the land and in the European context, at least, they have managed to create some longevity, knowing full well that in order to continue to produce wine, healthy soil is a necessary corollary to said endeavor.  Needless to say, this knowledge isn't across the board. The European wine industry is a hulking behometh that has deep roots. The product must go out, money must be made. This can oftentimes mean that the horse needs to be flogged to get to the finish line.  The problem with this philosophy is that in order to meet quotas, or to get a return, the soil will end up suffering.

 

Monty Waldin, author of "Biodynamic Wines," states the problem as such,

 

 

The problem of global warming in the context of the current financial meltdown is generally a point of anxiety for most of us, as well it should be.  However, as one reads the daily news, the word "green" appears with greater frequency.  One can only hope that this signals the turning point in the history of man where we turn the page, ironically, back, perhaps to a simpler time. I understand that there is a global consortium that wishes to go forward, to step out of time into a future that is sleek and shiny, where the problems at hand are solved with technology, where there is no hunger, no more global warming...things change constantly.  In our quest to attain perfection, we have ignored the savage, the unpredictable, the wild, and yet these are all part of existence, we can no longer live without these natural phenomena than we can stop earthquakes or any other natural disasters, we can, however, stop the man made ones.