Peter Edman
An article from Wired News introduces a contentious theme in an approachable way. New technologies often interfere with traditional cultures and belief systems. The case study here is the vineyards of France.
In this case, new biotechnology and vintnery techniques are threatening the market dominance of traditional French vineyards. Interestingly, the development of the technology is driven as much by a new way of looking at wines—a change in worldview even—as it is by new advances in science.
“As we look at wine more as something that is produced, rather than as a unique product from a particular place, this also allows us to think of ways to increase the level of flavor or speed up aging,” said James Lapsley, a wine economist at the University of California at Davis.
Micro-oxygenation, for example, imparts a barrel-aged flavor to wine stored in stainless steel. Adding oak chips to wine and analyzing the amount of oak flavor is a quick, easy way to add complex flavor.
Some see the science-driven changes as a bad thing because they have sometimes increased yield at the expense of quality. But others think these naysayers are snobby traditionalists worried that high-quality, complex wines will become cheaper.
So, what are the pros and cons here? Is something serious—tangible, intangible, tastable, untastable—being lost? Are there other side-effects that the article does not mention? Must the new technology be used now that it is available?
Gleanings, Business, Science and Technology, Thu 31 Mar 2005
He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars. General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer, for Art and Science cannot exist but in minutely organized particulars.
William Blake
