He tapped the university’s expertise, with Elisabeth Forrestel, assistant professor in the department of viticulture and enology, as the lead researcher. Intent on updating the index, Winiarski donated $450,000 to UC Davis this year. “We have to develop the method to better discern what is relevant in climate change and what is not.” Seed money “It’s time to reassess how much climate change is going to affect grape growing,” Winiarski said.
Winkler and Maynard Amerine introduced their index, the scale itself had not. But while the climate has changed a lot in the 75 years since A.J. Growers rely on the index the way pilots depend on flight plans. Regions where there are fewer warm days are better suited for early ripening varietals like chardonnays and sauvignon blancs, while areas with more warm days are better for cabernets and syrahs. It’s sort of a Farmers’ Almanac for winemakers, a scientifically calibrated guide that tells growers what varietals to plant where. To do that, he settled on what’s known as the Amerine-Winkler Index, developed in the 1940s to classify wine-growing regions based on heat from the sun. He decided he needed to help wine growers deal with climate change, so they would be able to not only preserve their craft but improve it. With some wineries left in rubble and large swaths of vineyards left charred, a phrase Winiarski heard over and over again resonated with him: “Nature bats last.”
He walks gingerly and is soft-spoken, but don’t be fooled: Winiarski is still a tour de force.Īs a man of action, he knew he couldn’t stand by and watch the wildfires ravage the land he loved without doing something. A small-framed man with untamed white hair, Winiarski is now 92 years old.
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