Paradise Lost

by Daniele Cernilli 01/08/18
985 |
|
Il paradiso perduto

The temptation to look back at a happy and lost era, in today’s complex times with its threatening future, is something I have consistently noticed in the world today and in our sector in particular.

Exactly 350 years ago, John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, an epic poem that established him as a leading figure in British literature. As many of you know, it tells the story of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden. I bring this up because the temptation to look back at a happy and lost era, in today’s complex times with its threatening future, is something I have consistently noticed in the world today and in our sector in particular.

In other words, there are those who think we must look back to a happier past and return to a 19th century mentality, one which pits nature against culture or, if you prefer, tradition against scientific progress, and opts for the former over the latter as a way to resolve problems. All this ignoring the fact that, for better or worse, human activity has always, through studies and scientific research, sought to find the most efficient solutions to the questions and situations we have always had to tackle throughout history. Today, in an era of quantum physics, multiverse theories and string theories, when people are suggesting colonizing Mars in the next 100 years, there are those who are so terrorized by these prospects that they think we need to take refuge in a georgic past and return to pre-industrial farming methods as the only way to save our planet. And while it is true that it is comforting and nice to be reassured by what we know and can control, there is also the risk of idealizing many aspects of the past without taking into account that over the years life expectancy has increased greatly and that our forefathers had to deal with famine and certain diseases that no longer exist. And that today the vast majority of homes have running water, heating and a host of domestic appliances.

A certainly wellbeing that 100 years ago was possible for only a select few is today widespread and this despite the economic crisis and a host of other problems, especially for the young. What does all this have to do with the world of wine? Quite a bit considering that there are many who are nostalgic of the past and harbor anti-scientific convictions. Many ignore the excellent results that have been achieved in sustainable winemaking thanks to scientific research. They are suspicious about varietals that are resistant to downy mildew, powdery mildew and botrytis and consider them the product of OGM hocus pocus. They are very diffident about vineyards that need less water as well as certain winemaking techniques like the vinification through reduction theorized years ago by the late Professor Denis Dubourdieu and other eminent scholars.

Attilio Scienza, one of Italy’s leading experts on vines and wines, has openly drawn attention to the fear of the future that exists in the sector, as has Domenico De Masi, a sociologist who totally agrees with him.

For them there is no reason nor rational to return to the past, no matter how comforting it may seem, because only through targeted scientific research will it be possible to tackle and resolve the problems facing us. This in winemaking as well as many other sectors. 





Editorial of the week

Events

March 2024
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
·
·
·
·
·
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
·
·
·
·
·
·

Newsletter

Subscribe to the "DoctorWine" newsletter to receive updates and being kept informed.
Update Privacy Permissions (GDPR)

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL