Joseph Scala

PhD
Geography and Environmental Studies

Joseph’s research examines the role of the mission grape in the Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, MX and how its production and integration into the global wine market is entangled with discourses of heritage and sustainability. This project also examines some of the challenges facing small and medium-scale winemakers/communities in a bourgeoning wine tourism landscape. The impending construction of a touristic development, Sassi del Valle, not only epitomizes the state and local government’s preferential treatment towards the tourism industry, but also actively constructs a heritage narrative that obfuscates the histories and material needs of the existing communities in Valle de Guadalupe.