Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/929459
72 WINES&VINES February 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS WINE EAST T ruro, Nova Scotia—A mil- lion-dollar research project is nearing completion with the aim of helping Nova Scotia's wine industry map growth op- portunities and assess risks as- sociated with climate change. Supported by $1 million in funding from Agriculture and Agri- food Canada's AgriRisk Initiatives program and managed by the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA), the project is modeling climate impacts on all aspects of the industry from grape production to wine sales. The initiative brings together existing mapping projects and new modeling tools to give growers a better idea how various climatic conditions could affect their expanding operations. Nova Scotia growers have em- braced a provincially funded vineyard-expansion program launched in 2015 that allocated $1 million to expand acreage to more than 1,000 acres by 2020, up from 658 acres at the time. The acreage is tended by approxi- mately 70 growers. Joanne Moran, secretary of the Grape Growers Association of Nova Scotia, who sits on the gov- ernance team for the project, stated, "If we want to expand the industry, then we need to know other microclimates within the province, other areas where spe- cific varieties will grow better.… What is climate change going to do to the various areas within the province? How will it impact the varieties we can grow?" The models developed as part of the current research project will give growers data that can be updated as more information comes available five, 10 and 20 years down the road. A phenological approach will give better insights into how vines could respond to changes in climate over the long term and frame the effects in a Bayes- ian network that, according to a presentation to the NSFA last spring, "will help understand the impacts of risks at various places in the grape and wine value chain and the impacts that changes in one part of the chain have on the others." Among the examples are the risk of certain types of disease and the potential economic im- pact of these as well as the effect of climate on fruit quality or the quality of particular grape variet- ies introduced as climate vari- ables shift. Meredith Flannery, project manager with the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, said the adaptable, interactive nature of Bayesian network models will provide a good foundation for risk assessment work well into the future. "It's bringing together a va- riety of layers of information, layers of data that are being cre- ated through the project, in- c l u d i n g t h e c l i m a t e - r e l a t e d information. It will produce what we're calling a grape suit- ability map," Flannery said. The maps will integrate climate and soil data with local bylaw and zoning information that will help growers identify the best places to plant. Originally approved in Janu- ary 2017, the project will wrap up at the end of March 2018. Data collection and model con- struction took place through September 2017. The prelimi- nary models underwent testing last fall, and the next three months will see further testing and refinement of the models. —Peter Mitham Wine East Covering Eastern North America Nova Scotia Growers Map Risks and Opportunities What's in the Package? Glass Made in America Waterloo Container is a family owned and operated company that supports American workers by offering an extensive selection of glass wine and liquor bottles that are made in America. It is our mission to provide glass, packaging and services backed with the values and reliability you've come to expect when you buy American. Largest Producer of Glass Wine Bottles 100% made and serviced in the USA Premium Glass Spirit Bottles Manufactured in the Heartland of the USA 888-539-3922 • waterloocontainer.com