Viticulture 2012 HSC Essay PDF

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Viticulture 2012 HSC Essay Analyse the environmental, social and economic impacts of an economic activity – 2012 HSC The global wine industry consists of two activities, viticulture and winemaking, with both activities extremely popular around the world. Viticulture is the growing, cultivation and harvesting of grapes, while winemaking consists of the production of wine through crushing and fermenting grapes. Over recent years the economic activity of both viticulture and viniculture (V&V) has have both positive and negative environmental, economic and social impacts internationally. Sustainable actions taken by the viticulture industry are positive effects but can also cause serious environmental issues. Whilst the viticulture industry strongly contributes the national economies, with Australians consume 29.6 litres of wine annually, with Australia being the fifth largest wine producer in the world, but can also lead major economic issues. There are also some social issues present regarding wine, but there are also positive social effects present. Nature and Spatial Distribution of Viticulture Viticulture (growing of grapes) is the primary process, whilst winemaking is the secondary industry. Grape growing is a highly specialised agricultural system, involving numerous jobs including growing, harvesting and monitoring of grapes. Viticulturalists, specialised grape growers, work closely with winemakers, creating distinctive products. Winemaking consists of crushing of grapes, fermenting, storage and bottling of wine. Viticulture is generically made in specific climates, made in about 30-50 degrees in latitudes and ranging from about 10-20 degrees. These climates are often necessary to produce quality grapes and small differences due to microclimates (terroir) can alter the taste and quality of wines. Europe is a hotspot of wine production and is considered to produce Old World Wines, focusing towards terroir and nature (areas include Champagne in France and Rhine Valley in Germany). New World wines are based outside of Europe (e.g Hunter Valley in Australia, Wineries in USA) and focus on the consistency of wines and mass production, whilst using technologies to assist them. Environmental Impacts

There have been numerous positive environmental impacts as a result of action taken within viticulture. Sustainable wine production could have positive effects as artificial chemicals are not used, compaction is added and biodiversity is maintained. As climate change and pollution become an increasing issue around the world, wineries around the world have begun to lower their production of greenhouse gas emissions and waste production. Yealands Estate (contains a vineyard) in New Zealand have taken part in contouring practices, where wetlands are created to attract bird varieties, and strategically placed to collect runoff. The estate also incorporates the use of eco-friendly technologies, such as solar energy and heat recovering technologies in an attempt to lower carbon emission and energy usage. Wine waste (marc) could be converted into useful biofuel. According to studies in University of Adelaide, 1 tonne of marc could potentially become 400 litres of usable ethanol. However, viticulture practice can also have major negative environmental impacts. Newly vineyards are established on cleared natural vegetation and land, and replaced with a monoculture of grape vine species, Vitis Vinefera, creating of haven for pests with no predators. Furthermore, destabilised soil and accelerated soil erosion caused by the clearing of land, can runoff into local waterways, increasing turbidity and delivering nutrients to promote algal bloom. Another major environmental impact of viticulture is overapplication of irrigation water causing salinization. This disastrous effect is observed in Riverland irrigation area in South Australia. Due to the lack of natural rainfall, viticulturalists resorted to irrigation water from the nearby Murray River. As the soils were sandy with little water retention, the water table quickly rose leaving large amounts of salt within the soils, rendering it useless and greatly damaging the environment. V&V have had both positive and negative effects into the natural environment. Economic Impacts Viticulture and winemaking have become a highly dynamic economic activity in the global economy, with the industry having numerous major economic impacts. The viticulture and winemaking industry are absolutely crucial to both global economy and employment sector. In Australia (2018), there are over 170,000 people employed in the including those directly employed in V&V. The viticulture sector plays a key role in providing employment in Australia, containing thousands of estate and family based wineries, with the number of employment in this sector expected to grow. In addition to employment, viticulture also plays a large role in Australian export and economy. Income from the wine industry

contributes to over 40 billion annually to the Australian economy, coming from revenue such as WET (Wine Equalisation Tax). It is estimated that the Australian economy will gain over $2 million for every $1 million invested within the wine sector. Conversely, growing economic growth of viticulture in the international scale can have backlashes to smaller vineyards and have an increasing economic cost for alcohol abuse. With wine being a popular alcoholic beverage, the financial cost to society of medical expenses relating to alcohol abuse is staggering, costing the government $36 billion in 2016. Alcohol abuse causes lots of negative economic cost for public services such as police forces and medical amenities. In an attempt to lower economic (and social) damage due to alcohol abuse, counter measures have been put in place. In the other hand, concentration of ownership puts price pressure on small vineyards and retailers. Statistics (according to pocketbook) reveal that small retailers have seen a decline in market sales since 2014. Contrastingly, large retailers and corporations such as Dan Murphery has seen their sales almost double in the same time. Viticulture and viniculture has had both major positive and negative economic effects in an national and local level. Social Impacts Viticulture has also had some positive and negative social effects, some affecting the individual and others affecting the society. Wine has a strong history of culture and tradition, especially seen within Old World Countries. Traditional viticulture practices in Greece and other countries in Europe such as France, often involved consuming with meals in moderate amounts. In a more modern context, viticulture and winemaking has become part of Australian culture and is expressed through wine tourism. Australia is some to some of well-known wine regions in the world, such as the Hunter Valley and Barossa Valley, which are frequently visited by tourists. People can also find enjoyment through wine collecting, looking for new types and brands of wines to add to their collection, particularly evident in China. Australia is home to some of the most popular wine brands in the world, such as Penfolds, which are responsible attracting tourists overseas. Contrastingly, there have been some social downsides with viticulture in terms of alcoholism and drink driving. As mentioned before, alcohol (including wine) abuse has detrimental economic and social effects. 10 million Australians (43%) experience physical or verbal harassment from strangers who have been intoxicated. Drinking driving is another major

social issue that is affected by excessive alcoholism. Drink driving is a factor in one every five crashes in NSW where someone loses their life. 97% of fatalities are men, with 64% under the age of 40, greatly affecting family members, friends and the greater community. Since the introduction of RBT (Random Breath Testing), fatal crashes involving alcohol have dropped from around 40% of all fatalities to 19%. Both positive and negative social impacts can come from a result of different uses and attitudes towards V&V. Viticulture and viniculture have both positive and negative environmental, economic and social impacts internationally. Sustainable actions taken by the viticulture industry have had positive environmental effects, but in turn has also had some major environmental issues. Whilst the viticulture industry strongly contributes the national economies, there are also negative impacts effects financial cost in alcohol abuse. There are also some social issues regarding wine with numerous road fatalities influenced by alcohol, but wine collection, tourism and tradition are positive social effects....