A short 5 minute drive from my home gets you to Gold Stream Park and then another short 5 minute hike along a rocky trail gets you to this beautiful scenic waterfall. (Click on the pic.)Pure, fresh, clean water.
The Olympia Brewing Company with their well-known slogan "Its the Water" has attributed the excellence of their beer to the high quality of water used to make their beer.
The most famous beers in the world have always depended on a special source of water to create their version of the highest quality beer. Its not just the water, its what's in the water that counts. Switching thoughts slightly, its what is in the irrigation water derived from the Murray-Darling river system in Australia and subsequently returned to the river, that is a cause for great concern. An increase in salinity in vineyard soils is becoming a significant problem. With the severe drought that Australia has suffered, an increased dependency on irrigation is inevitable. But not so fast says John Howard, the Australian prime minister, who in April announced that irrigation will not be allowed next year without significant rainfall in the next few months.
European vineyards are now starting to use irrigation on a larger scale. Global warming is one of the triggering factors here. France has just recently allowed the use of irrigation but on a restricted basis.Organic and bio-dynamic vineyards with their reduced dependence on irrigation will become more prominent.
It will be interesting to see how the new rules will play out in tradition bound Burgundy. I am betting the dynamic trend setter, the Boisset Family with their corporate family of wineries called La Famille des Grands Vins, will lead the way. (See my March 18 entry "Snap a Cap.." on a bold move by this Burgundian firm.)
1 comment:
nice photo, looks like a good place for a picnic (with a bottle of wine of course!).
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