This post is about Climate Change and the wine industry which is on my mind now and has been for some time. This week, the whole world is focused on the issue of climate change because of COP26 or the United Nations summit on Climate Change.

I have been doing a podcast sporadically about sustainability in the wine industry since April of this year. I have had 15 conversations with people, largely in the wine industry but not only. One thing we haven’t tackled yet though is will some areas of the world have to be grubbed up? What will the wine industry look like in 10 years?

Some regions have focused on the changes they will need to make in areas such as Bordeaux this has been hotly discussed. Other regions are preparing for changes to their irrigation policies. Yet I still haven’t heard of regions considering grubbing up their vines.

Many years ago I attended a tasting where a very famous Italian winemaker told me California should grub up all it’s vines because they were planted in places they can’t last and where they shouldn’t be growing. With the years I believe that producer has mellowed although his ideas may prove prescient.

I am curious if others have had experiences talking about the effects of the climate on vineyards worldwide and where we stand today on this topic.

It’s a lot to muse about this sunny Monday morning on the 1st of November.