Climate change is affecting our food, and our food is affecting the climate. NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about the search for solutions.
In Napa Valley, the nation's unofficial wine capital, one varietal reigns supreme: cabernet sauvignon.
It's one of the most popular red wines in the world. Its fruity complexity and full-bodied flavor make it well known among wine nerds and newbies alike. But climate change is threatening the small blue-black grapes for which cabernet sauvignon is named. Increasingly severe heat waves are taking a toll on the grape variety, especially in late summer during ripening.
Unlike its French counterparts that blend a variety of cabernet and non-cabernet grapes to create wines with the Bordeaux label, American cabernets are mostly monovarietal.
They're legally required to be.
When the wine industry first began in the United States, American wines didn't have the prestige of European "Old World" ones. So, winemakers opted to label wines using the grape it was made of — rather than the region it came from.
More frequent, more extreme heat waves are causing American farmers to rethink that strategy. In order to maintain the taste, quality and color of cabernet, some are considering blending more heat-resistant grape varieties into their wines. Others are installing new technologies like water misters to cool the grapes in the field.
Either way, it's clear that climate change is forcing farmers to adapt. What's less clear is how the industry as a whole can move forward.
Interested in hearing more climate solutions? Email us at shortwave@npr.org – we'd love to hear your ideas!
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. James Willetts was the audio engineer.
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