THE BOOK
Hi, I’m Linda Johnson-Bell from TheWineLady.com and I have been a wine critic, author, competition judge, journalist and drinker (!) for over 20 years. My wine training began in France, where I lived and studied for 10 years and was the Editor of Vintage International Magazine in Paris. Over the past decade, as I noticed my favourite wines changing in taste, I have become more specialised in wine and climate change and cool-climate viticulture, which prompted me to found TWACCI, The Wine and Climate Change Institute in Oxford, England. This will be my first self-published book, and I am campaigning to raise funds to continue my research, to produce and to market BLIND DRUNK.
The topic of BLIND DRUNK is: Wine, or water? This is because this is the choice that the world’s winemakers are currently facing as our most well-loved wine regions across the globe shrivel with heat and drought. Did you know that the Water Footprint Network states that it takes 5 litres of freshwater to make a glass of wine without irrigation as opposed to 150 – 350 + litres in irrigated regions, depending on rainfall and heat?
People are starting to ask questions: Will we run out of wine? (See my most recent SKY NEWS Interview on global wine shortage) If I can’t irrigate, what do I do? Will wine prices rise or fall? Will the wine in the future be better, worse, or just different? My friends are always asking me why their favourite wines are changing in taste and price, and why alcohol levels are so high, or why so many wines are starting to taste the same.
BLIND DRUNK will answer all of this and more and set the stage for a new drinking trend. Because now, more than ever, before there can be “organic”, “sustainable”, or “biodynamic”, there has to be “rain fed”, or dry farmed, which is the method of preparing the soil to maximise the moisture of winter rainfall to sustain the vines during their growing season. Because as things stand now, we are losing our classic wine regions for ever. The well has run dry. Can we really afford to continue to use our scarce freshwater supplies to irrigate a luxury crop?
BLIND DRUNK will have the first RAINFED REGISTRY to help you make more responsible drinking choices. There will be interviews and I’ll follow the lives of several produces across the globe as they transition and find their way in their new climates. BLIND DRUNK will explain why “good” wine does not mean expensive, will include lots of buying tips, reveal all of the new exciting wine regions, explain what is behind all of the trends like “biodynamic”, how and what to really invest in.
THE IMPACT
Why is this important? Wine grapes represent a $300+ billion global industry and are the most valuable fruit crop in the world. Wine is climatologists’ “canary in the coal mine” because it’s the fruit crop the most susceptible to changes in climate. So much so, that scientists have determined that the area suitable for wine production will have shrunk by up to 75% by 2050. In BLIND DRUNK, I will explain why the best way to save both our wine and water supplies, and to ensure that we have quality wines in the future, is to make dry-farming the global industry standard. We are getting dangerously close to having to choose between LOW YIELDS OR NO YIELDS.
When there are farmers in South Australia committing suicide because the water licenses go to the grape farmers who are selling their diluted Chardonnay to bulk brands, the world needs to know. You need to know what’s happening in the vineyards – it is not a niche topic. The drama unfolding today effects the drink retail sector, the travel and tourism industries, environmentalists, historians, consumers, biologists, the investment markets, and dozens of other satellite sectors.
Your contribution to BLIND DRUNK will help establish consumer awareness and create an environment in which wine producers can make the changes they are faced with. Because the grape farmers who are not poised to transition to dry farming, will be caught out with the brutal choice of diversifying, migrating, or ceasing viticulture entirely. This is no easy matter. It is easy to move a wheat field, but how does a 500 year-old vineyard with its chateau, family history and branding, change crops and make something else - or move?? The world’s Wine Map is changing and you can help shape its destination.
THE PERKS!
Apart from signed copies of previous books as well as this one, BLIND DRUNK, I'll be offering bespoke wine and food concierge services, SKYPE wine lessons, cellar planning (buying guides), Press Tastings in London, and vineyard tours in our 1952 Buick convertible.
THE FUNDING
This will be the first book that I self-publish and I am very excited. Please feel free to visit my Amazon Author Page. I want to do it properly. Funds raised through your assistance will assist in further research, production and the marketing of BLIND DRUNK. I will use the funds for further research trips, wine producer survey costs, book cover illustration, manuscript editor, printing, ISBN and other legal costs, author copies, Press Launch, PR campaign and miscellaneous office costs. Please feel free to ask about more details.
HELPFUL LINKS
www.thewinelady.com
www.twacci.org
Amazon Author Page
The Wine Lady's You Tube Channel
INSTAGRAM
LINKEDIN
TWITTER