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Gregory V. Jones By Tina Caputo, editor-in-chief Southern Oregon University professor carves out a niche in wine climatology hen the subject of cli- mate change comes up at wine industry conferenc- es, so inevitably does the name of Gregory V. Jones. A pro- fessor and research climatologist in the Department of Environmental Studies at Southern Oregon Univer- sity, Jones studies climate struc- ture and suitability for viticulture, and how climate change and vari- ability influence grapevine growth, wine production and quality. GREG JONES' RESUME Birthplace: Born in Murray, Ky., but also lived in Northern California, Louisiana, Hawaii, Colorado, Alabama and Virginia. Education: Bachelors and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in environmental sciences. Current Position: Professor and research climatologist, Department of Environmental Studies, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Ore., 1997-present (professor since 2006). Previous Experience: Instructor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., summer of 1995, 1996 and 1997. Personal: Jones has twin 12-year-old sons who inherited his wife's talent for music. The boys now have their own band called Round Trip. 58 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT NOV - DEC 2012 Jones has given hundreds of international, national and regional presentations on climate and wine- related research, and has written dozens of related articles and book chapters. Perhaps most impres- sively, he was a contributing author to the 2008 Nobel Prize-winning "Intergovernmental Panel on Cli- mate Change Report." He is also the son of Earl Jones, founder of the acclaimed Abacela Winery in Southern Oregon. We checked in with Jones to dis- cuss the effects of climate change and the wine industry's pursuit of sustainability. Vineyard & Winery Manage- ment (V&WM): How did you become a wine climatologist? Gregory Jones (GJ): Being a professor and researcher is my third career. My first was as a sous chef, chef and restaurant manager during my late teens and into my mid-20s. My second career was in retail where I developed, managed and owned two golf equipment stores. Then the economic downturn of the late 1980s turned my interest to going back to school. During a key time when I was trying to find a niche in climatology, my father was starting a pursuit of planting a vine- yard and making wine. His probing questions made me realize that the wine business knew the impor- tance of climate, but was not study- ing climate the way it appeared necessary to me. At the time there were no climatologists focusing on viticulture or wine, so my business sense of finding a niche, my scien- tific interests, and my father's inter- WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM