Thursday, September 27, 2007

Heading for the Hills


A leading Spanish wine maker is pulling up stakes and heading for the Pyrenees. The Torres family has been in the wine business for four generations in the Penedes region. They claim climate change is rendering their traditional vineyards too dry for production. From The Independent:

"We are moving into cooler areas of northern Catalonia, towards the Pyrenees," said the company's chairman, Miguel Torres.

The company said: "Climate change is unfortunately a reality not only established by scientists; we ourselves, who work with the fruit of the land, are aware of the problems."

The wine map of Europe is moving north, by about 20 to 25 miles every decade, Spanish experts reckon. Red wines from hot, dry regions such as La Mancha would contain more alcohol and less acid. Wine-makers also cited outbreaks of mould in Bordeaux and infections in southern Germany as warning signs. But they acknowledged southern England could become a serious producer.

No comments: