Home > Magazine Archives > March 31, 2013 Issue > Features
California Wineries Debate Fracking
Winemakers in some parts of California's Central Coast have long bragged about their soils, rich with decomposing shale. Now that same terroir also promises bountiful harvests for the energy industry, whose experts predict that the region's Monterey shale formation contains more than 15 billion barrels of reachable oil. But while traditional drilling operations have long existed alongside many Central Coast vineyards, the only way to extract oil from the shale is with hydraulic fracturing, which critics claim is an environmental hazard. Wine Spectator's Matt Kettmann investigates.
For the full article, check out the new issue of Wine Spectator, on newsstands February 26, 2013.
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