Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 1

PHOTO OF SHASTA LAKE DROUGHT TAKEN AUGUST 4, 2021 BY GEORGE ROSE
Editor's
Note
Drought,
Floods
and Doves
I
F YOU WERE TO DESCRIBE YOUR POSItion
on climate change, would you
consider yourself a hawk or a dove?
It was a question to distract my hiking
buddy, whose dogs had found a porcupine
off the trail and were now back on
leash as we high-tailed it back to our
cars. The United Nations' Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change had
just released its 3,500-page report on
the state of the science on the world's
climate, and it wasn't pretty. On the
same morning, the agricultural ministry
in France had confi rmed that 2021
would be an historically small crop for
French wine growers, after the frosts in
April and the excessive summer rain.
" I'd probably describe myself as an
ostrich, " she responded. She, who uses
beeswax wrappers on foods in her fridge
and recycles religiously, admitted to
me, " I just can't watch all the bad news
all the time. And you? " I'd had to say
ostrich (as witnessed by the continued
publication of a print magazine; time,
once again, to reassess this business
model). But also hawk and dove-some
of all three.
Whether or not we choose to ignore
the " code red for humanity " announced
by the UN Secretary-General, most all of
us are, by nature, ostriches, with varied
amounts of energy expended as hawks
and doves above ground. The climate
hawks, led by young activists like Greta
Thunberg, speak out in their words and
actions. The doves, in search of a signal
of hope-an olive branch that survived
a Biblical fl ood-seek optimism
and healing. Long before the Cold War,
hawks and doves were tied to economics,
to the engine that fuels our culture
and our wars. Defi cit hawks believe that
infl ation must be stopped at all costs.
Climate hawks take a similar stance on
global warming. So far, much of humanity
has responded by burying our heads
further into the warm sands.
What, then, does a climate dove
believe? Staring down the news of the
summer fl oods that wiped out entire villages
along Germany's Ahr, I contacted
David Schildknecht to ask if he would
report on the story. He agreed to take
on the assignment, and then shared
the painfully ironic news that his own
home in Ohio had just been devastated
by cresting waters from the wooded
ravine behind it.
Then, as the print deadline neared,
California issued unprecedented restrictions
on water access throughout the
Russian River watershed. David Darlington,
who has been researching the
impact of the drought on grape growers,
reported in from Mendocino County.
Meanwhile, Jasper Morris MW, who
will publish the second edition of Inside
Burgundy this fall, mentioned that one
of the most signifi cant changes in the
book had to do with reporting on the
climate. As we discussed the economic
and viticultural challenges of Burgundy's
current climate, he pointed
out one unexpected gain: the mostly
unclassifi ed sites-once too cool or too
damp- that are producing better wine
than ever in the heat and drought of
recent vintages.
His observations allow a little hope
in the midst of a crisis, even if it is just
hope that it's still possible to fi nd a
delicious, aff ordable Burgundy. Closer
to home, that kind of optimism helps
strengthen our resolve to be heads-up
observers. As reporters, we are trying to
balance our hawkish sense of urgency
with the hope searched out by doves.
JOSHUA GREENE
https://www.cristomvineyards.com
Wine & Spirits - October 2021

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