In the late 1970s, geophysicist Marion King Hubbard introduced the world to a concept that later became known as ‘peak oil’, a shorthand name for the implications of his theory on when the maximum extraction of petroleum would be reached and then fall into steep decline. Hubbard’s theories have since been disproved, but the phrase lives on as a useful metaphor in an age when we frequently face limitations born of the tendency to maximise our use of available resources.
Recently, news from Napa Valley has me wondering if we may have reached ‘peak wine’ in Napa County, at least...