Chris Bargmann is a UK-based professional geologist where he runs his own geological consultancy, Sodor Geosciences Limited (www.sodorgeo.com). He has spent much of his career working in the mining and mineral exploration industries and has travelled extensively during this time. An interest in studying more about wine developed whilst he was living and working in Johannesburg in the 1990’s, and he was admitted as a Cape Wine Master in 2000. Chris can draw on experience from vineyards in South Africa, the UK, France, Australia, the USA, Canada, as well as more unusual wine regions such as Armenia, to provide vineyard geological reviews and advice to grape growers, the wine industry and the wine media.
His CWM research project was “Great Wines are Grown in the Vineyard”, which looked at the natural influences which affect both vine and resultant wine quality. Chris maintains a strong interest in the interplay between natural influences (e.g. climate soil and rocks) and how this interacts with terroir and wine production. He has published several papers and articles detailing the interplay between geology and wine in South Africa. Chris has also presented papers at geological conferences where geology and wine sessions have become a popular theme.
One area of current interest is the UK wine industry where there has been a dramatic increase in the number of new vineyards planted and the quality wines being produced, English sparkling wines now rank alongside Champagne in terms of quality. This is in part due to climate change where warmer temperatures and changes in weather patterns over the last two decades mean grape cultivars such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir can now ripen sufficiently for sparkling wine production on a routine basis.
Contact email: chris@sodorgeo.com
