Is There an Upside to Climate Change? Maybe, If You're Trying to Grow Wine in Canada

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS)  a group of scientists have analyzed what climate change may mean for wine production around the world.  The news isn't good for growers in many regions that produce the best wine, like the south of France and Italy.  Drier weather and higher temperatures will stress the vines and likely reduce production  (up to 68 per cent in Mediterrean Europe, and 60 per cent in California.)

But other regions which are now on the edge of wine production may fare much better.  The study specifically mentions "high latitudes in Western North America," but high latitudes in the eastern part of the continent may also become more welcoming to wine production.

While this shift may cause problems for existing ecosystems--and the study cautions that trying to maintain a corridor of wildness for big mammals like grizzlies in the Rockies will become that much harder when faced with competition from vinyards--it also means that Canadian wine drinkers and growers may enjoy much better harvests.

Santé!