The latest threat from global warming

Apparently, global warming is a threat to wine producers in both California and France.

At the same time, warmer weather turns some northern nations into quality wine producers -- like Great Britain and Canada.

From Jen Phillips in the November/December Mother Jones:

THE LAST TIME England had a reputation for its wine was more than 700 years ago, when British monks took advantage of the 400-year-long Medieval Warm Period to grow and press grapes. Today, a new round of climate change is putting the island's wines back on the map.

Thanks to its newly hot, dry summers, the south of England is now considered wine country. Nearly 400 vineyards are producing $31 million worth of wine annually...

As the latitudinally challenged English wine biz heats up, climate studies predict that established grape-growing regions like France, Spain, and California will be struggling; Napa Valley could see its wine production drop up to 80 percent in this century. Meanwhile, formerly gauche newcomers such as Tasmania and Canada are being touted as the next "star regions."

Perhaps this explains why Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing so hard for climate change legislation.

In the immortal words of Three Dog Night, "Couldn't understand a single word he said but he sure had some mighty fine wine ..."


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