Gregory V. Jones, professor and research climatologist in the Department of Environmental Studies at Southern Oregon University, will be featured in two lectures at Linfield College relating to the wine industry.
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, he will discuss “Unraveling the Mystique of Terroir: Wine’s Sense of Place.” On Wednesday, Sept. 11, he will discuss “Climate, Grapes and Wine: Structure, Suitability and Sustainability in a Changing Climate.” Both lectures are at 7:30 p.m. in 222 T.J. Day Hall at Linfield. The lectures are free, open to the public and sponsored by the President’s Office.
“Unraveling the Mystique of Terroir: Wine’s Sense of Place”
The first lecture will focus on ‘terroir,’ a French notion that encompasses the climate, landscape, soil and people that contribute to the growing of great grapes and the making of fine wine. Unlike most other beverages, wine has a special quality of invoking positive images of a specific place – it is the expression of the distinctiveness and individuality of a particular site, a sense of place. This talk will provide insights into what science knows about terroir and its role on wine typicity and wine styles and provide examples of different terroirs around the world, including Southern Oregon.
“Climate, Grapes and Wine: Structure, Suitability and Sustainability in a Changing Climate”
This lecture will cover how climate change has the potential to impact nearly every form of agriculture. History has shown that the narrow climatic zones for growing wine grapes are especially prone to variations in climate and long-term climate change. Projections of future warming at the global, continent and wine region scales will likely continue to have both beneficial and detrimental impacts through opening new areas to viticulture and increasing viability, or severely challenging the ability to adequately grow grapes and produce quality wine. The presentation will summarize a series of global to regional studies that examine observed climate structure, variability and trends, along with climate model projections in relation to viticultural viability and quality issues.
Biography, Gregory V. Jones
Jones specializes in the study of climate structure and suitability for viticulture, and how climate variability and change influence grapevine growth, wine production and quality. He holds a B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in environmental sciences with a concentration in the atmospheric sciences. He conducts applied research for the grape and wine industry in Oregon and has given hundreds of international, national and regional presentations on climate and wine-related research. He is the author of numerous book chapters, and was a contributing author to the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. He was recently named to Decanter magazine’s 2009 Power List representing the top 50 most influential people in the world of wine and the Oregon Wine Press’s 2009 Wine Person of the Year, and has been in the top 100 most influential people in the U.S. wine industry in 2012 and 2013 (intowine.com).
For more information, call 503-883-2220.
