Decanter World Wine AwardsClimate change may cool Napa Valley, says study
- Monday 7 February 2011
Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) was prompted to commission the study – Climate and Phenology in Napa Valley: A Compilation and Analysis of Historical Data – by 2006 research which suggested the area would soon become too warm to produce fine wine.
NVV said the original research, led by Bernard Seguin of France’s national agricultural institute INRA, had focused on just a few weather stations in the valley, giving a misleading impression of the overall climatic trend.
NVV’s four-year study, covering more than 12,000 data reports, found that average temperatures had only increased by one or two degrees Fahrenheit over the past several decades, mostly affecting the night rather than daytime.
‘The results, overall, provide good short-term news that consumers are not “tasting” climate change in Napa Valley wines,” said NVV.
Christopher Howell of Cain Vineyard & Winery, a climate study task force member, described the Pacific Ocean as Napa’s ‘greatest temperature control’, with cool air being sucked up the valley as temperatures in the Central Valley rise.
‘There is a suggestion by some climate scientists that, as the interior areas warm in the future, Napa temperatures may actually remain relatively moderate, or even cool as maritime air gets drawn further up the valley,’ he said.
‘Either way, warmer or cooler, it’s different than what we’re experiencing today – so as prudent farmers we need to look at all of our possible scenarios and consider best practices to continue to grow the best wine grapes.’
Have your say!
Robert Rex
February 18 00:59
I have been noticing this climate effect in Sonoma and as my friends can tell you have been predicing cooler summers in the California North Coast. What's happening is that as the interior gets warmer it is drawing the marine layer further inland and the layer of cold air and fog is thicker. Where during the average summer ten years ago the marine layer would be 500 feet thick and burn off by 10 or 11 AM, now it is 1,500 feet thick and hangs around until 2 PM in Napa and 3 or 4 in Sonoma. This means we get only half the hours or less of sun. In addition the marine layer is very wet and drips fog water on the vines. In 2010 this created mold in the middle of summer, almost unheard of. Colder wetter summers, that's what we seem to be in for. It changes everything. We are going to prune back to 2/3 the number of buds this winter and there or hang a lot less fruit in an effort to get the fruit ripe. Last summer the average temperature in Kenwood (center of Sonoma Valley) was 70°F. We're be making a lot of French style wines.