Agricultural resilience and wine production: a value analysis

Climate change presents the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors with formidable challenges in meeting the food demands of the world population. What could be the role of those agricultural productions with no or negligible nutritional value but high economic value, like floriculture and wine production? We look at the case of the wine industry and the role it may play in an agro-industrial sector that needs to tackle the challenge of feeding the world under climate change circumstances. The wine industry may be accused of competing with other more important agricultural products for land, water (at least in some countries), fertilisers, etc. while producing a luxury product with limited nutritional value, as well as producing considerable GHG emission per bottle (including the various stages of farming, winemaking and marketing). Yet, viticulture and winemaking may contribute to the resilience of local agricultural systems and provide inspiring examples, know-how and capital resources. The wine sector has a deep connection with locality, is considerably vulnerable to global warming and has repeatedly shown the capacity to be a fly-wheel for the local economy and its agricultural and tourist sector. These features may be important assets in boosting the resilience of local agricultural systems under global warming stress. I put forward some ethical commitments and conditions that concerned wine producers and consumers need to meet in order to contribute to the sustainability and resilience of local agricultural systems. Since the high economic value of wine is so closely intertwined with its cultural and symbolic value, success needs the joint effort of producers, consumers and wine critics, which share responsibility in reorienting the sector towards supporting agricultural resilience.