California’s wine industry is facing some rough times – again. It took many decade to create a California wine industry that is world renown, but a few more dry years could wipe out all that progress.
As reported by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources News Blog, the prolonged drought is building up high levels of salt. The salt build-up results from our mineral-rich ground water and evaporation from the soil surface. The evaporation is drawing salts to the surface. Winter rains remove the soluble salts, but we have had 3 blistering winters.
Irrigation at the beginning of the drought reduced the build-up, but ever-tighter water restrictions now threaten to reduce or remove irrigation as an option.
The on-line wine authority, Wine Searcher, says, “(Continued) water shortages could lead to a much smaller crop. Even worse, it’s possible that California grapegrowers might experience a problem unheard of in this state: grapes that fail to ripen.”
The salt in the soil causes grape vines to lose their leaves, and according to Mark Battany, UC Cooperative Farm Advisor, “Without a way to process sunlight, you won’t see sugar ripening.”
Napa valley growers have the advantage of a large groundwater basin to tap from, and the area is generally much wetter than the south Coast or Central Valley. The vineyards, the first to establish a world-class wine is more profitable and farmers can buy water.
Napa Valley’s average 25″ per year is nearly twice the southern California average, and yet they have suffered the worst rain on record. With only 4.17″ of rain since January 1st recorded at the Napa County Airport, wine growers known they are facing ever increasing water prices. Other areas have worse news: Carneros received 3.88 inches this year, according the University of California Cooperative Extension in Napa County.
In Paso Robles, though, conditions are becoming dire. Even with a moratorium on new developments, wells are going dry in the premium grapegrowing areas on the west side of the region. The west valley provides a deep, rich calciferous earth that grape vines thrive on but unfortunately does not hold water well.
The real problem with this limitation is that the vineyards are new developments as make up the square miles of vineyards. This does not bode well for the sustainability of the industry as the National Weather Service forecasts show no end to the sunny weather in sight.
If California were a separate country, it would be the world’s fourth-largest wine producer with over 660 square miles covered in grapes.
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http://gardening-coaches.com/continuing-drought-conditions-threaten-california-wine-industry/
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