Grapevine: Man vs Nature and the Shifting Balance of Nature
Modern man is at the top of his homo sapiens game. Since we first stood upright, we have been subject to the constant whim and temperament of Mother Nature. Throughout our evolutionary lifecycle, our efforts to master and control nature have come in fits and starts, with successes and failures coming in long waves of experimentation and fights for survival. But in the last century, we have achieved more in advancing control over our destinies than in all of the fifty thousand years of humankind’s modern behavioral history.
Yet, just as we are feeling increasingly immortal and omnipotent, just as we feel in total control over the natural order on earth, nature comes down on us with a vengeance to remind us of who’s in charge and how precarious our lives, and livelihoods, can be. The randomness of nature’s forces, be they atmospheric conditions or biological mutations, keep us constantly on edge, as we take two steps forward and one step back in our campaign for dominance over Mother Nature.
We experience this conflict on many levels, both global and local. And since this is a wine column, my focus tends to be as much wine-centric as human-centric.
On such a micro plane, I was reminded of man’s torment over nature’s influence when recently reviewing the results of the latest grape harvest around the world.
The proliferation of bountiful and excellent wines has never been greater than in the early decades of the 21st century. Across the globe, winemakers have learned to utilize new techniques and technology to offset the vagaries of the annual life cycle of grape crops. I’ve come to expect continued progress, perhaps even dominance, over nature’s influence in the vineyards.
And then came the 2012 season. In the United States, it was one of the most prolific and high quality in recent memory. In Western Europe, it was plagued by multiple calamities: a cold and wet spring; unusual hailstorms that destroyed grapes; a hot summer, coupled with very little rain in the final stages of grape maturation before harvest. Overall, the harvest was the poorest in nearly fifty years.
So how did French, Italian and Spanish winemakers address this setback? Did they rise to the occasion, demonstrating man’s resiliency? Or did they accept man’s submission to the forces of nature, suffering the economic consequences of its powers? At times, living in harmony with nature means accepting her whims and arbitrariness, and simply genuflecting in deference to her omnipotence. Here are a few examples of how winemakers dealt with their dilemma.
1. Blend grapes to produce a consistent – if smaller – bottling. The French winemakers in Champagne and Bordeaux have mastered this technique. Each year they work their alchemy to mix and match varietals, geography, even vintages. The yields in 2012 will be reduced by up to 40%, but the quality may be salvageable.
2. Create a second label. The harvest was not up to the high standards of certain winemakers, precluding bottling of the premier wines, so they will divert the 2012 wine to their lesser labels, at lower prices, to partially salvage their investment in the vineyards.
3. Sell the grapes. There’s typically a secondary market into which to sell crops. Not all winemakers have the same high quality standards; for every misfortune, there is someone else lurking – at the right price. For many winemakers, feeding their children trumps personal pride.
4. Throw in the towel and hope for a better fortune in 2013. The owners of the prestigious Chateau d’Yquem, who produce one of the most sought after – and expensive – dessert wines in the world, have decided to forego the entire 2012 dessert wine production rather than produce an inferior wine. This is an expensive decision; the retail value of a single year’s production is $20-30 million.
Man and Nature. Adversarial conflict? Peaceful coexistence? As long as it continues to be two steps forward, we can cope with one step back.
