by Shaun Tolson | August, 2021
Climate change skeptics need only study the last decade of sugar cane harvests at the Novo Fogo (novofogo.com) distillery in southeastern Brazil to see the impact. According to the brand’s founder and CEO, Dragos Axinte, 10 years ago he and his team could plan to harvest during a two-week period at the end of March. Since then, however, the sugar cane harvest has occurred anytime between late March and late July. The unpredictability of the harvest not only impairs the cachaça distillery’s operations, but harvests that occur in Brazil’s winter also mar the yield and the quality of the cane juice that is acquired. “The weather has become so unpredictable, it’s painful,” Axinte says.
Droughts, windstorms, and floods are all damaging to the sugar cane crop. For that reason, Axinte has dedicated an entire field to experimental hybrid plants, but he acknowledges it’s a plan that requires patience. “We’re trying to create hybrids that are used to this environment,” he says. “But it might take us 15 or 20 years before we have true biodiversity.”
Luxury Magazine online – Weathering the Storm
Luxury Magazine | August 2021
