Wine, Wildfire and Climate Change

About the event:

On Monday, June 3, 2019, Savor: Lectures on Food and Wine featured former Governor Jerry Brown and UC Davis Enologist Anita Oberholster. They discussed the effects of climate change on California agriculture, particularly the growing frequency of catastrophic wildfires, with a focus on grapes and wine.

Oberholster, who began studying the effects of smoke exposure on grapes in the aftermath of the 2017 Northern California fires, explained that smoke taint is among the most pressing and complex issues facing California’s $35 billion-a-year wine industry. Brown, who painted a bleak picture of the effects of a changing climate, ended with optimism for the future by reminding audience members that everyday changes at home can make a big difference if we all act.

Photo Gallery

Photos of the lecture and reception at Shields Library

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UC Davis Library Blog

Lecture Highlights the Impact of Climate-Driven Wildfire on California Wine

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Speaker Biographies

Jerry Brown, Former Calif. Governor & Anita Oberholster, Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis

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Wine, Wildfire and Climate Change Highlights

“When we think about tasting smoke in your wine, it’s pretty complex. Climate change is millions of times more complex than that. But we have to figure it out because this is not about shifting from wine to beer. This is about human existence.”

—Jerry Brown, Former Governor

"A wine taint is any outside influence that overpowers a wine. In the case of smoke taint, that overpowering characteristic is smoky, burnt, campfire, medicinal, earthy. And you also have this lingering character at the back of your throat that people describe as ‘licking a cold ashtray’.”

— Anita Oberholster, Enologist, Department of Viticulture and Enology