NOWLIN, JOHN W., Ph.D. The Geography of Wine in North Carolina: Terroir, Site Selection Efficacy, and Implications for Pierce’s Disease Resistant Grape Varieties in the Southeastern U.S. (2017) Directed by Dr. Rick Bunch 138 pp. North Carolina has a broad range of physical environments that produce wine from a breadth of grape species/varietals. Its wine industry has grown rapidly for over a decade and the nature of its climates, soils, and topography are varied and unique in the wine world, yet North Carolina remains relatively unknown outside of the Southeastern portion of the United States. In this study, North Carolina’s vineyards and their specific site characteristics were considered both on the basis of their terroir and the extent to which they followed extension agency advice on site selection. One characteristic risk of growing grapes in the Southeastern U.S. is a plant illness known as Pierce's Disease, which is deadly to the vines of Vitis vinifera parentage. This research used a novel method to reveal the dividing line between V. vinifera and Pierce’s Disease resistant grape variety suitability zones across the Southeast. The quantification of the physical elements of terroir and test of the effectiveness of vineyard site selection has revealed the character of North Carolina’s wine regions and commercial vineyards. In addition, the modeling of the Southeastern U.S. Pierce's Disease zone provided clarification on where Pierce’s Disease resistant winegrapes might present new wine industry options for vineyards across the Southeastern U.S. KEYWORDS: Wine, North Carolina; Southeastern U.S.; Terroir; GIS; Applied Geography; Viticulture; Site Selection; Site Suitability THE GEOGRAPHY OF WINE IN NORTH CAROLINA: TERROIR, SITE SELECTION EFFICACY, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PIERCE’S DISEASE RESISTANT GRAPE VARIETIES IN THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. by John W. Nowlin A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Greensboro 2017 Approved by Rick Bunch Committee Chair © 2017 John W. Nowlin APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation written by John W. Nowlin has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair ___________________________ Committee Members ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ Date of Acceptance by Committee Date of Final Oral Examination ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank my wife Sara and my two girls, Eva Parlie and Millie Nora. All the time I spent away from you three was for the words I have committed to this document and I will forever be thankful that you all gave me grace and love in response to absence and inattention. Second, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Rick Bunch. I appreciate your patient direction and your willingness to spend so much time reading the multitude of drafts for parts of this document. I respect your knowledge, skills, and willingness to mentor me (“back-to-back, two-time, ‘93, ‘94, International Blockbuster Videogame Champion!”). To the other members of my committee: Dr. Corey Johnson, Dr. Jeff Patton, Dr. Michael Pretes, and Dr. Greg Jones, this is certainly a better work and I am certainly a better geographer for having chosen you. Thank you for accepting membership in my committee and for spending your time on making me and this work better. I would also like to thank Sarah Spayd, Tony Wolf, and the members of the North Carolina Winegrowers Association for your instruction, guidance, and willingness to engage a geographer in researching viticulture. This work represents a Jumping off point for a career of work on a topic rich in opportunities for geographic analysis. I feel fortunate that my committee gave me the opportunity to apply geography to a real-world interdisciplinary issue that produced actionable knowledge for others. I would also like to thank my former managers, Steve Griswold and Geoff Nygren, along with my former supervisor Heather Middleton for your willingness to be flexible as I completed my academic work. There is no way I could have done it without iii each of you. I would like to thank Karen McCaughtry for the years of support and friendship and for encouraging me along my academic path. Last, but not least, I would also like to thank my mother, Karen Straughn, for getting in a station wagon with $100 in your pocket and driving 17 hours to safety for your children. You have taught me how to make hard choices under difficult situations and to give all of yourself to your family. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ..........................................................1 Introduction ..................................................................................................1 Geography > Agriculture > Wine ................................................................3 Wine Regions ...............................................................................................8 Terroir ........................................................................................................10 A Geographic Framework for Terroir and the Wine Region .....................13 Wine Region Formation .............................................................................15 GIS in the Service of Viticulture: A Literature Review ............................19 Terroir Analysis and/or Site Selection ...........................................21 Capability/Suitability Analysis ......................................................21 Scale and Data Sources ..................................................................22 North Carolina Terroir ...............................................................................24 North Carolina Vineyard Site Selection ....................................................25 Pierce’s Disease .........................................................................................27 Dissertation ObJectives ..............................................................................29 II. GEOGRAPHY OF WINE IN NORTH CAROLINA: GEOSPATIAL CONCEPTS APPLIED TO PHYSICAL TERROIR .....................................31 Abstract ......................................................................................................31 Introduction ................................................................................................32 Literature Review.......................................................................................33 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................36 Results and Discussion ..............................................................................38 Conclusions ................................................................................................39 v III. VITICULTURAL SITE SELECTION: TESTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NORTH CAROLINA’S COMMERCIAL VINEYARDS .................................................................................................41 Abstract ......................................................................................................41 Introduction ................................................................................................42 Literature Review.......................................................................................46 Climate ...........................................................................................48 Topography ....................................................................................54 Soil .................................................................................................58 Methods......................................................................................................59 Results ........................................................................................................63 Climate Results ..............................................................................63 Topographic Results ......................................................................68 Soil Results ....................................................................................71 Vineyard Results ............................................................................74 Conclusions ................................................................................................76 Suggestions for Improving NCWGG.............................................78 IV. NEW PIERCE’S DISEASE RESISTANT GRAPE VARIETIES: THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. WINE INDUSTRY ....................................................................................................79 Abstract ......................................................................................................79 Introduction ................................................................................................80 Literature Review.......................................................................................83 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................92 Results ........................................................................................................96