Environment Forum
Global environmental challenges
New world wines: now from the north
This article by Paul Ames originally appeared in GlobalPost.
The terrace of the elegant 18th-century chateau offers views over the formal French garden and fields filled with neat rows of vines.
This idyllic scene could be reminiscent of Bordeaux or the Cotes du Rhone … were it not for all the snow.
Wijnkasteel Genoels-Elderen is the biggest and best-known vineyard in Belgium. It is one of a growing number of wineries taking root in parts of northern Europe once considered too chilly to produce drinkable wine.
“We can compare this region with the Champagne region or Burgundy, or the Chablis,” said Belgian winemaker Joyce Kekko-van Rennes. “If you are in period of warming, we are in a fantastic place for winemaking.”
The extent to which global warming has encouraged the expansion of winemaking in northern lands better known for their beer is up for debate.
What’s a green winery to do?
When Napa Valley winery Far Niente resolved to embrace solar power, it faced a big hurdle: how to install ground-mounted panels without sacrificing acres of valuable Cabernet vines.
Enter the latest solar innovation — solar panels that can float on the water rather than being mounted on the ground.
The system, which was given the witty name “Floatovoltaic,” was made by securing 1,000 solar panels on pontoons and floating them on an irrigation pond at the 100-acre Martin Sterling Vineyard, whose grapes make Cabernet Sauvignon wine.
With “Floatovoltaic,” Far Niente was able to save three-quarters of an acre of vines. It removed another acre of vineyard to accomodate a land portion of the system that boasts 1,300 solar panels.
The solar system generates up to 400 kilowatts of electricity at peak times, significantly offsetting the winery’s annual power usage, Far Niente said.
The installation was developed by Thompson Technology Industries Inc, installed by SPG Solar, and uses solar panels from Sharp.
Say, won’t that save water by reducing evaporation as well? The solar energy captured for electricity won’t get to warm the water and speed evaporation.
