Climate change is not responsible for rising alcohol levels

[Oswaldo Costa]

According tothis report from the American Association of Wine Economists (didn't know there was such an anomaly; maybe Salil and I should join), climate change is not responsible for rising alcohol levels and winemakers tend to under-report these levels on their labels. So, the drive to accumulate filthy lucre cannot be passed off on nature.

 

[Rahsaan]

the American Association of Wine Economists (didn't know there was such an anomaly

I think there's probably room for wine-related studies in every academic discipline.

Unfortunately for me, the most logical application in Political Science would be studying wine regulations and bureaucracies, which is not exactly my thing. But I'm still searching for the magic bullet topic!

 

[Florida Jim]

While I am neither trained observer nor scientist, it appears to me that 'climate change/global warming' is responsible for greater extremes in temperature, weather, etc. but not a progressive warming.
So I don't really think higher alcohol levels could be attributable to such change.

Increased alcohol levels have always struck me as a stylistic choice - attributable to any number of causes, not the least of which is the market.

As an aside, the last several years in Napa/Sonoma have been remarkably cool growing seasons with much fretting by farmers and winemakers as to whether or not the fruit will get ripe and also, whether or not it will survive the late season heat spikes (into the 100's).

Best, Jim

 

[fillay]

The actual paper is a little more nuanced than the Decanter blurb, confirming both the "nature" and "stylistic" side of the argument:

"The alcohol content of wine has been trending up significantly around the world, though at different rates in different places. Some, but not much, of this trend can be accounted for by trends in the heat index. The trend in alcohol that is not explained by the heat index is attributable to unobserved factors, such as other features of the climate or cultural responses to the market. While other measures of climate might have additional effects that we have not measured, our findings lead us to think that the rise in alcohol content of wine is primarily man-made.

Our analysis of the pattern of discrepancies between label claims and actual content suggests that in many places the rise in alcohol content of wine is a nuisance consequence of choices made in response to evolving demand for wine having more intense, riper flavors" (p.19).

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

Bingo.

 

[fillay]

originally posted by Rahsaan:
I think there's probably room for wine-related studies in every academic discipline.

Unfortunately for me, the most logical application in Political Science would be studying wine regulations and bureaucracies, which is not exactly my thing. But I'm still searching for the magic bullet topic!

Performativity. All the cool kids are doing it:

* Performing Taste at Wine Festivals: A Somatic Layered Account of Material Culture.

* Metro-rurality, social distinction & ideal reflexive individuality: Martinborough’s Wine Tourists.

* Flirting with space: thinking landscape relationally.

* The political economy of price and status formation in the Bordeaux en primeur market: the role of wine critics as rating agencies (Colin Hay being, at least in my corner of the world, what you might call a "big deal".)

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by fillay:

Performativity. All the cool kids are doing it:

Nice to see a range of approaches. Many ways to approach the subject. Although I noticed that there weren't any political scientists.

And I'm not sure any of these academics are 'cool'!

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

originally posted by Florida Jim:
While I am neither trained observer nor scientist, it appears to me that 'climate change/global warming' is responsible for greater extremes in temperature, weather, etc. but not a progressive warming.
So I don't really think higher alcohol levels could be attributable to such change.

...

Best, Jim

Global warming is a prognosis of average net temperature increase around the world as the atmosphere's insulating qualities are enhanced by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and other 'greenhouse gases,' released into it by human activity. This enhanced insulation should slow the re-radiation of absorbed solar energy from the earth's surface, through the atmosphere, out into space. Projections are for modest net increases, but even a few degrees' difference would be a huge change in the global energy budget, leading possibly to dramatic changes in the atmosphere's fluid dynamic patterns and, therefore, regional weather - with unpredictable outcomes. There are a lot of complicated feedback effects (like those of melting sea ice, for example), which contribute to the system's unpredictability and potential instability.

So Jim's right - no surprise. But I've seen some historical data for the western European temperate zone suggesting that the recent regional weather trend there has, in fact, been towards higher average temperatures. The climate in Sonoma would not necessarily be affected in the same way - in fact, I think the California current in the north Pacific gyre would tend to moderate any temperature increase there, having approximately the opposite effect of the Gulf current on western Europe.

 

[SFJoe]

originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
data for the western European temperate zone suggesting that the recent regional weather trend there has, in fact, been towards higher average temperatures. The climate in Sonoma would not necessarily be affected in the same way - in fact, I think the California current in the north Pacific gyre would tend to moderate any temperature increase there, having approximately the opposite effect of the Gulf current on western Europe.

The '90s were the hottest decade in the prior 500 years in western europe.

Californians I know complain of warmer nights in recent years.

I fear the economists' temperature summation data may not be the right data, which doesn't mean their conclusion is wrong.

The decision to pick at 30 Brix instead of 23 is not just a question of the weather.

 

[Ned Hoey]

originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
The climate in Sonoma would not necessarily be affected in the same way - in fact, I think the California current in the north Pacific gyre would tend to moderate any temperature increase there, having approximately the opposite effect of the Gulf current on western Europe.

I happened to see just yesterday that climate projections for the entire US west coast for this summer are for cooler (than historical average) temps. Increased temps inland in the west will cause air to rise, which will draw in more cool Pacific air to the coastal areas. I suspect that zone is roughly a distance of 20-40 miles in from the coastline. Last summer was like that and it appears to be repeating so far.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

originally posted by SFJoe:
The decision to pick at 30 Brix instead of 23 is not just a question of the weather.

Spot on. The presentation I saw would seem to say that the opportunity to make this decision is offered with increasing frequency in northern European wine growing regions.

 

[SFJoe]

originally posted by Ned Hoey:
Last summer was like that and it appears to be repeating so far.

You know, for some of my favorite wines, that is some pretty fine news.

 

[Ned Hoey]

originally posted by SFJoe:

originally posted by Ned Hoey:
Last summer was like that and it appears to be repeating so far.

You know, for some of my favorite wines, that is some pretty fine news.

I'm not complaining either but there's been some expressions of concern to outright alarm from area grape farmers.

 

[Yixin]

originally posted by Rahsaan:

originally posted by fillay:

Performativity. All the cool kids are doing it:

Nice to see a range of approaches. Many ways to approach the subject. Although I noticed that there weren't any political scientists.

And I'm not sure any of these academics are 'cool'!

Better to be correct than cool, as someone told me.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Yixin:

originally posted by Rahsaan:

originally posted by fillay:

Performativity. All the cool kids are doing it:

Nice to see a range of approaches. Many ways to approach the subject. Although I noticed that there weren't any political scientists.

And I'm not sure any of these academics are 'cool'!

Better to be correct than cool, as someone told me.

If you are correct without being cool (assuming "cool" for an academic means saying something interesting), you're just spouting worthless commonplaces. If you're cool without being correct, you at least have the chance of being wrong in an interesting way.

The worst of all is being both incorrect and uninteresting, which, alas, is too frequently what "cool" is confused for. But uninteresting correctness isn't much worth being enamoured of either.

 

[nigel groundwater]

originally posted by SFJoe:
The decision to pick at 30 Brix instead of 23 is not just a question of the weather.

That's a fact but getting to 30 Brix might be.

 

[SFJoe]

originally posted by nigel groundwater:

originally posted by SFJoe:
The decision to pick at 30 Brix instead of 23 is not just a question of the weather.

That's a fact but getting to 30 Brix might be.

Yes, but if you're in a place where it doesn't rain in the fall, time and passerillage can let you dial that in.

 

[Yixin]

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:

originally posted by Yixin:

originally posted by Rahsaan:

originally posted by fillay:

Performativity. All the cool kids are doing it:

Nice to see a range of approaches. Many ways to approach the subject. Although I noticed that there weren't any political scientists.

And I'm not sure any of these academics are 'cool'!

Better to be correct than cool, as someone told me.

If you are correct without being cool (assuming "cool" for an academic means saying something interesting), you're just spouting worthless commonplaces. If you're cool without being correct, you at least have the chance of being wrong in an interesting way.

The worst of all is being both incorrect and uninteresting, which, alas, is too frequently what "cool" is confused for. But uninteresting correctness isn't much worth being enamoured of either.

Too often, cool without being correct is not even wrong, as the interesting kids say.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Yixin:

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:

originally posted by Yixin:

originally posted by Rahsaan:

originally posted by fillay:

Performativity. All the cool kids are doing it:

Nice to see a range of approaches. Many ways to approach the subject. Although I noticed that there weren't any political scientists.

And I'm not sure any of these academics are 'cool'!

Better to be correct than cool, as someone told me.

If you are correct without being cool (assuming "cool" for an academic means saying something interesting), you're just spouting worthless commonplaces. If you're cool without being correct, you at least have the chance of being wrong in an interesting way.

The worst of all is being both incorrect and uninteresting, which, alas, is too frequently what "cool" is confused for. But uninteresting correctness isn't much worth being enamoured of either.

Too often, cool without being correct is not even wrong, as the interesting kids say.

"Not even wrong" is a category that exists only in the sciences. We humanities types can always be wrong', only too easily. Our cognate category is probably "not even interesting.

 

[Eden Mylunsch]

originally posted by fillay:

Performativity. All the cool kids are doing it:

* Performing Taste at Wine Festivals: A Somatic Layered Account of Material Culture.

I attended just such a festival yesterday afternoon in Southern California and the general "somatic accounts, taste vocabularies, and somatic joint acts.... as well as how people perceive the material world—and the sense of taste in particular—in active and reflexive ways " was primarily along the lines of "bitchin wine, dude", whatta great buzz" and "you gotta red?". At a subsequent charity event last evening, a tonier crowd (more Bentleys in the valet queue than Toyotas) resorted to somatic tautology more along the lines of "is Grenache like Napa Cab?", "Viognier is to Santa Maria what Chardonnay is to Montrachet", and "I've been on the Screaming Eagle mailing list since 1994 but have never opened a bottle". In the end, both demographic groups seem to be struggling to find a way to communicate to the peers or overhearers the fact that they enjoy wine and know enough about it to put a little thought (misguided or otherwise) into what they put into their glasses. Is status different than buzz? Probably more in PR, branding and image than in the glass, but maybe not. Now there's a dissertation topic!

originally posted by fillay:

* The political economy of price and status formation in the Bordeaux en primeur market: the role of wine critics as rating agencies (Colin Hay being, at least in my corner of the world, what you might call a "big deal".)

Colin Hay has always been a "big deal" in my world, particularly since "Land Down Under" was a big hit. I didn't know he'd gone on to wine renown, but it's good to have an Aussie writing about wine in an international basis. "Good on 'im", as they say, uh, down under.

-Eden (but maybe he could write about winemaking in warmer climatic conditions and its effect on alcohol levels, thereby bringing this thread full circle)(and did anyone other than me confuse the bands Men At Work with Men Without Hats? I mean, one was Canadian and the other Australian, but someday maybe they'll both reunite and do a tour as Men Without Work Hats)(they could open for Helmet)