On 7 February 2015, the DS Director Scott Leckie addressed the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association (MPVA) at the 2015 Mornington Peninsula International Pinot Noir Celebration.
The speech was well-received by an audience of more than 200 winemakers from the Mornington Peninsula region and other wine-growing regions of the world. DS and the MPVA have recently entered into a partnership to tackle climate displacement throughout the world.
Australia’s Mornington Peninsula is not only home to a thriving winemaking region, but is also the birthplace of the Peninsula Principles on Climate Displacement Within States.
Following is an excerpt from Scott Leckie’s speech:
Whether we like it or not, climate change will affect all of us in one way or another; and vignerons will feel the heat more than most. As the temperature climbs, growers will need to adapt their practices and harvest times, perhaps consider growing different varietals or maybe even relocating to climates more appropriate for the alchemical processes that transform mere grapes into the sacred elixir that this gathering is dedicated to exploring.
As bad as it will be for winemakers, though, at least most of you have the means to adapt and act long before true crisis conditions arrive. It is hard to overstate, though, just how serious the climate crisis already is for the 200 million or more people threatened with the loss of their homes.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice (and master Pinot Noir vigneron at Hurley Vineyard) Kevin Bell introducing Scott Leckie at the International Pinot Noir Celebration
