Scorching summer temperatures have pushed growers in Europe’s top wine-producing nations to start picking grapes in July for the first time in recorded history

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OLIVA GESSI, Italy — Scorching summer temperatures have disrupted life for millions of Europeans, but for winegrowers in Italy and France, who are harvesting their grapes unusually early, the hot weather offers both pros and cons.

In Oltrepò Pavese, a winegrowing region in northern Italy, the harvest was in full swing in the final days of July — a first. The same phenomenon is also affecting winegrowing areas of southern France.

“This year is historic because the grapes have never been harvested in July before,” said Matteo Castellani, head of the Coldiretti farming union for Casteggio, south of Pavia. “We started the harvest at the beginning of the week, on July 27 and 28, and that’s a record.”

In Oltrepò Pavese, as elsewhere, the harvest usually begins between August 10 and 15, Castellani told AFP. Under a blazing sun, farm workers delicately detached bunches of Pinot Noir from rows of vines at the Defilippi – I Gessi estate.

“Recent months have seen abnormal heat — a symptom of climate change which, sadly, farmers and the entire sector must now take into account,” said Castellani.

Coldiretti forecasts the harvest for Sangiovese grapes, Italy’s most common variety, could begin as early as mid-August in Tuscany. The grapes are usually picked between September and November. For Italy’s top agricultural union, predicting the quality of a harvest that will be spread over almost five months is a real oenological challenge for wineries — not least owing to the concentration of sugars which record temperatures and drought induce in the grapes.

For now, “maturation … is perfect” and “the alcohol content optimal”, said winemaker and estate owner Federico De Filippi, three days into harvesting. But he warned that if the high temperatures continued they could increase the grapes’ alcohol content, thereby forcing harvesting to be accelerated.

Acutely Arid Conditions

In southern France, months of soaring temperatures have also presaged an early harvest.

“A July 30 (start) is exceptional to say the least,” said Alain Gleyzes, a winegrower in La Palme in the southern region of Aude. He began harvesting a Muscat grape at night on Thursday, destined for the production of a sparkling white. “I’ve been in the wine business 43 years and it’s the first time in my life I’ve been harvesting in July,” he noted.

As head of the Fitou appellation, Gleyzes has been battling drought for years and had to uproot around one third of his more than 60 hectares in 2025 after two years of acutely arid conditions close to the Mediterranean coastline. The drought, he said, wilted about 30 percent of his vines.

His is not an isolated case. Just to the north, around Narbonne, twin sisters and 10th-generation viticulteurs Camille and Audrey Lalaurie had never, until this year, begun harvesting before August 12. “Twenty years ago it was around August 25,” said Camille. This year, they will start this weekend — just hours into the new month.

Further south, in the Pyrenees-Orientales bordering Spain, the Lafage domain began harvesting last week. “Compared to normal, we are about 10 days ahead,” Jean-Marc Lafage told AFP as he picked grapes for a light alcohol wine requiring less mature fruit. “With part of our team on holiday, we’ve had to make do. We managed to motivate the staff from marketing, accounting and IT” to help out.

Long-Term Implications

The record early harvest across both countries underscores the accelerating impact of climate change on European agriculture. While the current vintage shows promising sugar concentration and alcohol levels, growers warn that prolonged heat could disrupt quality and force even faster harvesting in future years. For an industry built on centuries of tradition and predictable seasonal rhythms, the shifting calendar represents one of the most significant challenges in modern viticulture.