Wine-Searcher reports that French authorities have temporarily raised Champagne’s permitted upper alcohol level from 13% to 15% for the 2026 vintage after exceptionally hot conditions accelerated grape ripening and pushed potential alcohol unusually high. Champagne experienced spring frost, very early flowering and five heatwaves, alongside its earliest harvest on record, and the exemption is intended to prevent some producers whose grapes reached exceptional maturity from falling outside appellation rules, a striking example of climate change forcing adjustments to long-established production standards.