tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19609007.post8054786565686352100..comments2023-10-30T01:32:53.843-07:00Comments on Should We Talk About the Weather?: The Heartland Institute's Skeptic Handbook - Get Out the Shovel...Mitch Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13933712759882704052noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19609007.post-2391193993141530792009-08-19T21:54:30.430-07:002009-08-19T21:54:30.430-07:00Mitchell,
You do a very good blog. But ....
Thi...Mitchell, <br /><br />You do a very good blog. But ....<br /><br />This from RealClimate, not exactly devout carbon sceptics like me. <br /><br />"However, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that climate is actually the dominant control – so what does the history of English vineyards show?<br /><br />The earliest documentation that is better than anecdotal is from the Domesday Book (1087) – an early census that the new Norman king commissioned to assess his new English dominions, including the size of farms, population etc. Being relatively ‘frenchified’, the Normans (who had originally come from Viking stock) were quite keen on wine drinking (rather than mead or ale) and so made special note of existing vineyards and where the many new vines were being planted. Sources differ a little on how many vineyards are included in the book: Selley quotes Unwin (J. Wine Research, 1990 (subscription)) who records 46 vineyards across Southern England (42 unambiguous sites, 4 less direct), but other claims (unsourced) range up to 52. Lamb’s 1977 book has a few more from other various sources and anecdotally there are more still, and so clearly this is a minimum number.<br /><br />Of the Domesday vineyards, all appear to lie below a line from Ely (Cambridgeshire) to Gloucestershire. Since the Book covers all of England up to the river Tees (north of Yorkshire), there is therefore reason to think that there weren’t many vineyards north of that line. Lamb reports two vineyards to the north (Lincoln and Leeds, Yorkshire) at some point between 1000 and 1300 AD, and Selley even reports a Scottish vineyard operating in the 12th Century. However, it’s probably not sensible to rely too much on these single reports since they don’t necessarily come with evidence for successful or sustained wine production. Indeed, there is one lone vineyard reported in Derbyshire (further north than any Domesday vineyard) in the 16th Century when all other reports were restricted to the South-east of England. <br /><br />The Normans had only been in England for 21 years when Domesday was written never mind the survey date. <br /><br />Those northerly MWP vineyards make the map of past vineyard limits more than slightly inaccurate <br /><br />If you are a sucker for hard work, have a look at some other maps, and the attached words and odd bits of sarcasm, on the adjacent posts there. <br /><br />http://www.pool.org.au/group/climate_changePeter Ravenscrofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09610366950116984504noreply@blogger.com