Walla Walla Wine

Warmer temperatures threaten Northern California vineyards

Applying scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, scientists used a climate system computer model and found that Napa and Santa Barbara counties could experience very hot days during the growing season, with temperatures reaching 95 Fahrenheit or higher. The number of hot days will be greater, they say, with about 10 more sweltering days than usual.

As a result, the amount of grape-growing land is projected to decline over the next three decades, the authors wrote.

"There will likely be significant localized temperature changes over the next three decades," said Noah Diffenbaugh, coauthor of the study and a center fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford. "One of our motivations for the study was to identify the potential impact of those changes, and also to identify the opportunities for growers to take action and adapt."

High-value growers in California may need to take into account warmer weather and integrate climate information into their cultivation and practices, Diffenbaugh said. Two counties that he found would have cooler temperatures, Yamhill County in Oregon and Walla Walla County in Washington, can prepare for more optimal growing seasons.

"It's risky for a grower to make decisions that consider climate change, because those decisions could be expensive and the climate may not change exactly as we expect," Diffenbaugh said. "But there's also risk in decisions that ignore global warming, because we're finding that there are likely to be significant localized changes in the near term."

The peer-reviewed study, which has yet to undergo the scrutiny of the larger scientific community, is based on the Copenhagen Accords greenhouse gas target of 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline, or about a 23% increase in atmosphere gases by 2040. This could raise the average global temperature by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, a conservative scenario, said Diffenbaugh. 

Researchers compared the computer model’s simulations with actual weather data collected between 1960 and 2010 to see if their model could accurately replicate past temperatures. They combined new and historical data and found that all four counties were likely to experience higher average temperatures during growing seasons.

Through The Walla Walla Grape Vine™: Elusive, Yet Devoted: Dowsett ...

His path to winemaking all started when he produced his first ten gallons of Gewürztraminer in junior high school. Later, he would put in a few years at Canoe Ridge Vineyard/Winery in Walla Walla and assisted with their Columbia Valley Gewürztraminer. While winemaking at the former winery, Lattitude 46, Chris also produced a dry barrel fermented Gewürztraminer under the Lattitude 46 label. He was at this Touchet, Washington winery until 2007 when he would become winemaker for Artifex Wine Company in Walla Walla. It was there, at this world-class custom crush facility, that Dowsett Family Wines was conceived with its first 300 cases of wine. Chris has since moved on from Artifex, but when Chris isn't producing his own wines, he is also assistant winemaker for Buty Winery. Dowsett Family Gewürztraminer - 2010 : From the Celilo Vineyard at Columbia Gorge. This vineyard was planted in 1982 and is dry-farmed. If you want to know what a dry Gewürztraminer should taste like, this wine is a stunning example. This aromatic grape shows floral notes of a rose garden and the palate is expressive of white peaches and other stone fruit. While this is a dry white, it is very fruit forward which leaves an impression otherwise. Chilled just right, this light white wine is cool and crisp and the use of neutral oak leaves a round mouthfeel. Yeah, you want this wine for those cool summer evenings ahead of us, but it is also food friendly. Think spicy Thai or light seafood salads. Just like my name, I believe there are only four major food groups and they all begin with the letter, "C" - Cabernet, Cheese, Chocolate, and Coffee. Walla Walla Wine Woman . Let me share the stories of the Walla Walla vines and wines with you.

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