The Drinks Business reports that Champagne could begin harvesting as early as 10 August in warmer sites, potentially setting the region’s earliest recorded picking date after early flowering, severe spring frosts and heatwave conditions. The official start date is currently expected to be 15 August, but Montgueux may begin earlier, while producers are balancing healthy fruit against risks from high temperatures, sunburn and reduced yields after frost damage of around 40% on average.
Climate change
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People Are Willing To Pay More For Climate-Proof Wine, Study Shows
Grist reports on a new Cornell University study testing how consumers respond to three climate-adaptation options for winegrape producers, shade cloth, switching to heat-adapted grape varieties, and relocating to cooler regions. The study found that consumers were willing to pay a premium when these changes were clearly communicated, although relocation was the least desirable option, and the article notes important limits, including a sample of only 300 respondents, mostly younger graduates who already cared about environmental issues and food labels.
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On Greek Island of Santorini, Winemakers Try to Adapt to Heat and Drought
Reuters reports that Santorini’s winegrowers are battling severe heat and drought, with Assyrtiko output falling sharply and old kouloura-trained vines dying after extreme conditions from 2023 to 2025. Producers are testing treated wastewater irrigation, new planting layouts, subsurface watering and atmospheric water harvesting, as the island’s water pressure is intensified by tourism and wider Mediterranean climate stress.
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Climate Inversion, Learning From the New World
Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News reports that climate change may be reversing the traditional flow of viticultural knowledge, with producers in hot or humid regions such as India and Brazil offering lessons to European growers now facing compressed ripening windows, water stress and higher heat pressure. The piece argues that Old World regions may increasingly need practical ideas from places once seen as peripheral, including canopy protection, irrigation precision, drought-resistant rootstocks and a more flexible approach to grape selection and wine style.
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Sancerre Faces Flinty Future
Wine-Searcher reports that climate change is forcing Sancerre producers to reconsider how they preserve the appellation’s identity as warmer and more erratic conditions alter ripening patterns. The article highlights shrinking picking windows, rising alcohol levels, falling acidity, mildew pressure, soil and exposure differences, higher trellising and cover-crop decisions, showing how growers are trying to keep Sancerre focused on terroir rather than simply producing warmer-climate Sauvignon Blanc.
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Napa Valley Warned Over Unsustainable Water Use
New York Post reports that Napa Valley wineries are facing renewed concern over groundwater use, after county data showed 2025 pumping above the level considered sustainable. The report says officials are looking at conservation incentives, irrigation checks and updated water analysis, while producers are also dealing with weaker wine demand and high regulatory costs.
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IWCA Roundtable: Climate Change Poses ‘Existential’ Threats to Wine
Harpers reports, in a subscriber-only roundtable preview, that climate change is transforming the way wine is made and may sweep away long-established agricultural rhythms in some regions altogether. Even from the limited public text, the message is stark, adaptation and sustainability remain front-and-centre in wine-sector thinking, and climate risk is being discussed not as a future issue but as an immediate structural threat.
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New Bordeaux Claret Gets Official PDO Recognition
The Guardian reports that Bordeaux has formally validated a new “bordeaux claret” style within its protected designation, positioning it as a lighter, lower-alcohol, less tannic red intended to be served chilled, and available from the 2025 vintage. The move is framed as a response to hotter growing seasons pushing alcohol levels up, and to shifting demand towards fresher, more casual reds, especially among younger drinkers. Producers are said to be adapting with shorter macerations and experimentation with heat-tolerant varieties, while keeping classic, age-worthy Bordeaux reds alongside this new category.
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Cold Climate Viticulture Puts New Northern Wine Regions on the Map
Euronews reports that colder climate viticulture is accelerating across northern Europe, driven by hardier hybrid grapes and climate related shifts in growing conditions, and it argues this is reshaping wine tourism beyond the usual sun soaked regions. It highlights Estonia’s Muhu Winehouse as an example of new northern vineyards inviting visitors for tastings, pairings and workshops, and it also points to changing expectations among local sommeliers as quality and ambition improve.