If you like wines from Washington state, get ready for some good news. According to a study led by Conservation International biologist Lee Hannah, rising temperatures associated with climate change will dramatically expand the vineyard-friendly space in the Pacific Northwest over the coming decades. (Unfortunately, that expansion will come at the expense of wildlife habitat.) Californian winemaking, on the other hand, will suffer. Most varetials will be harder to grow in 60 percent of the state's grape-growing regions (including Paso Robles, where the SHFT Rhone blend comes from). 

Hannah's study combined three methods of assessing wine grape suitability to map the influence of climate change on viticultural areas around the world. Other regions that will struggle include Mediterranean Europe, South Africa, and Australia; while places at higher latitudes and elevations, such as parts of New Zealand and northern Europe, will be better off.

Check out this interactive infographic on Wired about the effects of warming temperatures on North American winemaking.

(via Wired)

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