There is a movement afoot to move vegetable farming from soil to air. We’ve grown many common vegetables successfully by this method. So why not winegrapes?
Hydroponic Farming
According to this ever-increasing farming method, plants of a variety of sorts are grown without soil in “vertical gardens,” as described in Dickson D. Despommier ’s new book, “The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century.” They are nutrified solely by nutrient-infused water, artificial light, and air. We already see the benefits of this farming method in our markets, particularly in the case of peppers and lettuce. So why not winegrapes?
The Terroir Argument
If the specific minerals and ions that inform certain great terroirs can be reduced to their fundamental chemistry, might we be able to replicate these unique terroirs chemically and grow winegrapes in urban environments that replicate Burgundy, Bordeaux, or Napa Valley? The common wisdom presently is that, no, we can’t do that because of the specifics of climate and soil structure.
The Argument from Technology
It may well be true that superior viniculture is soil- and climate-bound. It’s never been done any other way. But consider the gains technology has made over the past decade or two. Whoever would have thought 20 or 30 years ago that digital photography could ever replace the established high-end film-based process. Or that we could carry powerful computers in our chest pockets? The people that created our modern world haven’t stopped working on the issues of the future. Learning how to feed 7 billion people is a front-burner issue that will need to be addressed by cutting-edge technology.
What Does the Future Look Like?
Looking back a few decades, and forward, too, it’s hard to imagine that viniculture will remain as it is today. Already the majority of vineyardists, particularly in the New World, have their art and science down to the point where poor wine is rapidly disappearing from the scene. Wines costing $3 or $4 are now quite competitive with much more expensive wines of yesteryear. And fine wine has hardly moved in price over the past decade due to a proliferation of competition and an explosion of new wineries that are embracing new technologies.
Will today’s visionaries attempt to extend our deep understanding of superior viniculture to the vertical garden? Will we be seeing a Romanée-Conti analog coming from a skyscraper in downtown Manhattan? Don’t hold your breath, but it might just happen.
Alan Boehmer - Alan Boehmer has conducted regular wine seminars and wine tours since 1967. Originally based in Los Angeles, he served as a consultant for ...
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