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▲ 大火之後，殘存在空氣中的煙霧會對附近的葡萄果實與葡萄藤造成所謂的煙霧污染 （smoke taint)（圖片來源：AP Photos by Eric Risberg) ▼ 永續的葡萄栽種農法，減少化肥與殺蟲劑的使用，可以讓土地對抗自然災害的 耐受力較高，也能增加碳排吸附量。(圖片來源：discovercaliforniawines.tw) ▶ 加州北部索諾瑪的一場野火，燒毀許多葡萄園 （圖片來源：Josh Edelson＠L'Agence France-Presse）
Besides Australia and the west coast of the U.S., extreme heat waves have also affected the rosé wine production areas in southern Italy and Provence region in southern France. In Adelaide Hills, one of the major wine production areas in Australia, heat waves resulted in massive fires and destroyed more than 1/3 of the vineyards. Furthermore, wildfires also destroyed many California old vines sought after by seasoned connoisseurs in an instant, and the remaining vineyards in the neighboring regions were also tainted by smoke.
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Even without wildfires, extreme high temperature would lead to temporary suppression of grape maturation in an effort for the vine to survive. Excessive sunlight could also damage or dehydrate grapes, which may adversely affect the flavor of wine. In Argentine, many wine production region that used to rely on melting snow from Andes Mountains for irrigation, water shortage caused by continuous rising temperature has also resulted in the decline of production in recent years.
Secretary-General of International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), Pau Roca, has stated that harsh weather has become a frequent occurrence. Unfortunately, there is no vaccination available for climate changes. Wine industry is facing problems much more severe than the pandemic now.
No One Can Escape from Global Warming, nor Claim to be an Innocent Victim
"It's such a pity that Grape growers need to face all those frost and heat!" T sighed.
Wine farmers are indeed victims of global warming. However, the tremendous amount of water usage during wine-making process and all those packaging and transportation process create greenhouse gas emissions far exceeding our imaginations. According to research by UC Davis Professor of Chemical Engineering Roger Boulton, the carbon emission concentration level of winemaking is more than five times higher than that of airplanes or cars.
Intuitively, people would believe that the problem lies in the methods of cultivation and winemaking. Research shows that about 60 liters of carbon dioxide is released to produce one liter of grape juice during fermentation process. Great amount of water usage and the production of wastewaters during the winemaking process also result in a lot of pressure on the environment. In addition, when organic farming methods are adopted, the amount of carbon absorption by the soil is eight times higher than that of traditional farming methods. As a result, more and more growers begin to keep cattle and sheep in the vineyards. By doing so, not only the soil in the vineyard get fertilized, the weeds get controlled from growing, the discontinuation of tractors and other cultivation machinery has also reduced the use of diesel oil and thus lower the greenhouse gas emission. Moreover, the use of livestock also increases the vitality of the soil in the vineyard, reaching the goal of carbon-reduction by absorbing and retaining more carbon from the atmosphere. In Spain, Familia Torres went even further by capturing carbon dioxide released during fermentation process and transforming the gas into different applications such as a product needed by the paint industry.
Surprisingly, more than 30% of the carbon emission of the wine industry comes from the packaging process, according to carbon emission analysis of the champagne production region conducted by Comité Champagne. Nearly 20% of carbon emission comes from distribution and transportation, and 10% from the farming method. The Grupo ARCE company of Spain also made some calculations based on the carbon footprint assessment methodology PAS 2050 established by the British Standards Institution (BSI). Using a bottle of typical Spanish white wine as the basis, the research found that a bottle of 750 ml white wine would produce 1.21 kg of carbon emission in the process from production to recycling of the bottle, which is equivalent to the emission of a car traveling five kilometers under normal speed. In particular, 56.1% of the carbon footprint of a bottle of wine comes from the glass bottle, while 10% of the carbon emission comes from the cardboard box and cork, which indicates that packaging process is indeed the most crucial part than the 20% emission produced during the wine-making process.
Traditionally, glass has been chosen by the alcohol industry because of its high density which can effectively block oxygen and carbon dioxide, thereby extending the shelf life of the product. However, from melting, forming to pasteurization prior to bottling, the making of a glass bottle require a lot of energy waste. The heavy weight of glass bottles also adds to the carbon emission amount during the subsequent transportation process. Moreover, the fragility of glass also requires additional packaging such as wooden box and bubble bags, resulting in a higher rate of damage rate and material waste. More importantly, due to low rewards for glass bottle recycling and trouble in reuse, more than 60% of glass bottles are not recycled in reality. Buried glass may require at least 1 million years to decompose. The CEO of Garçon Wines , Santiago Navarro, who decided to turn their wine bottles into flat-rectangular PET bottles, said that, "Even though many people are against the use of plastic bottles, the biggest crisis of the moment is global warming. If changes are not made immediately, we will die of heat before we are drowning in plastic bottles."
" There are more and more natural disasters, and wine production are decreasing each year. Sounds like the price of wine will only go up and become more and more expensive in the future!"T murmured.
"The most important thing is, we might not get any pinot noir from Burgundy even if we have the money!" Ｈ , a sharp-witted girl who always spoke her mind, points out.
It is difficult to imagine that two or three decades from now, we may no longer be able to obtain elegant Pinot Noir from Burgundy. The Merlot grape variety that represents sweetness and freshness of berries will be chopped down from the vineyards in Bordeaux. Riesling that was originally suitable for the cool and cold weather region in Germany will be replaced by Grenache now planted in southern France, and bubbly wine will vanish from Champagne area.... For the wine industry, the challenge posed by global warming is not just the immediate problem of spring frost, heat waves, or hailstorm, but a complete redrawing of the global wine production map, redefinition of the natural production environment, as well as a rewrite of wine tradition and cultural history.
六星級 環保 精品酒店
MONTE UZULU
Text / 伊森 Photo / Juan Pablo Tavera y Alfredo Parker
位於墨西哥瓦哈卡州小漁村和聖阿古斯蒂尼約海灘 (San Agustinillo) 的 Monte Uzulu 酒店，以重新發現大自然 的「真實」與融入在地「和諧」的方式，展現未雨綢繆的 環保意識；一種與自然平衡的體驗重新定義了精品酒店的 價值。
Monte Uzulu 的名字來自 gusulú 一詞，也是該地區土 著薩波特克人意指 " 開始 " 的意思。
委託墨西哥設計工作室 Taller Lu'um 和建築工作室 At-te 的酒店坐落在非常原始的叢林中，實際上是距離太平 洋僅幾步之遙的一處沙丘。設計團隊儘可能地保留樹木生 長原貌，換言之，減少對環境的影響。而大量使用當地天 然材料，如木材、泥土和乾棕櫚葉作為建材，甚至酒店粉 紅色的牆壁都以泥土、石灰和手工混合覆蓋的灰泥完成。 為了適應當地炎熱的天氣，Monte Uzulu 酒店採取源於 墨西哥西部傳統的帕拉帕 (palapa) 開放式建構，特點是和 通往瓦哈卡叢林的樓梯相連的六個矩形空間是對稱的結構。 至於可移動木牆和人字形茅草屋頂，不但有助自然通風， 同時又能遮蔽刺眼的陽光。
酒店十一個各有特色的房間分別以極簡和波西米亞風 格美學為主調，每間房都有可俯瞰森林和海洋的全景露台。 套房內以帶有地方色彩的稻草燈和手工籃筐為裝飾；瓦哈 卡木匠雕刻的木製家具以及棉紡織品，則是向墨西哥手工 藝的一種致敬。
SAN AGUSTINILLO
