Former US Vice President Al Gore will be the keynote speaker at a 2008 conference devoted to climate change and its impact on wine.
The International Climate Change and Wine conference, the second to be organised by the Wine Academy of Spain, will take place in Barcelona in February 2008.
The roster of speakers includes international consultants Michel Rolland and Dr Richard Smart, and winemakers Miguel Torres of Bodegas Miguel Torres, Ernst Loosen of the Dr Loosen estate in Germany, and Bruno Prats, former owner of Chateau Cos d'Estournel.
Gore, a speaker and champion environmental awareness and author of An Inconvenient Truth and star of the documentary of the same name, will kick off the two-day event on February 15.
The conference will comprise presentations, panels and seminars covering topics associated with oenology and global warming – specifically, the implications for vines, viticulture and wine itself of rising greenhouse gases and UV-B rays. These subjects are among those debated in the November 2007 issue of Decanter magazine.
The first Climate Change and Wine conference was held in 2006, and featured experts like Dr Christian Butzke of Purdue University and Dr David Smart of UC Davis. It attracted 40 journalists from 17 countries.
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What the *^/zz#*^ does Al Gore know about wine! Would someone PLEASE stuff his mouth full of corks and tell me when he goes away.
Michael G
Right on brother Michael!
Some of us have had it up to here with eco-terrorism.
Suggested reading: Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to
Global Warming by Bjørn Lomborg
Dean S
Excellent!. Global warming with affect us all!! Besides we can also see how our industry can help in this important subject.
Monica Chavez, Canada
How can one obtain tickets to attend this conference?
Dick Handal, Handal Family Vineyards, Healdsburg, CA, USA
Well don't be too skeptical, Australian vintages are already coming on 2 to 4 weeks earlier than they have done in the past, rain fall more erratic than reliable and greater incidence of extreme weather events. If you don't think that affects wine then you probably also think milk comes from supermarkets. Have heard Dr Richard Smart speak at 13th Wine Industry Tech Conf-Adelaide. Don't have to agree with him but you can't dismiss it either-a sneak preview-France is Toast!
Craig Markby
My point is, what does Al Gore know about wine? He is a talking head, a poster boy for a warming world and nothing more. I have stacks of books on wine, I read at least two wine mags every week and get wine related web
updates every week. In the last five years, not one has ever quoted Al Gore in referance to wine or vine. Just remember, a millon years ago Chablis was under water, how else would all those sea shells have gotten there? The earth is changing! We're just able to see, record and document all those changes as it happens. Al Gore maybe to busy to speak anyway, I hear he spends hours polishing his new prize.
Michael G
My compliments to Mr. Markby. Clearly, Michael doesn't understand how wine becomes wine, or he wouldn't question why Al Gore would be speaking about “climate change and its impact on wine.” Notice – nowhere in the description of his talk does it say that he'll be waxing on about the quality of wine. But before it can be uncorked, poured, swirled, and sipped – it must be grown! A-ha! This must be where the climate part comes in. I could go on about many facts and figures unrelated to Al Gore that support his mission – and of course, I'm refraining from even mentioning his award-winning book and film (see http://www.climatecrisis.net/ as I'm not above promoting it) – but instead I want to ask one question: where would all the coal and other fossil fuels be if humans were not here? If you think that change alone has no impact on the environment, then yes, I can completely understand why you are confused about a little lecture to wine enthusiasts about the climate. I guess I have one more question: why all the animosity toward Gore? People usually don't get this upset if the topic isn't hitting so close to home. (All puns intended.) There – how's that for your public flogging. ;-)
KMK (who really is a friend of Michael's, even if he is confused)
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What the *^/zz#*^ does Al Gore know about wine! Would someone PLEASE stuff his mouth full of corks and tell me when he goes away.
