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Champagne Growers Race to Preserve Quality in Record-Early Harvest
The official harvest began up to a month early, and Comité Champagne said spring frost and drought cut potential production by 43%.
- Champagne producers are rushing to complete a record-early harvest as extreme heat and drought accelerated grape ripening, with the official harvest opening between Aug. 12 and Aug. 17 this year.
- Four heat waves compressed the ripening period, while Union of Champagne Houses president David Chatillon stated that spring frosts reduced potential production by 43%, with drought exacerbating yield declines.
- At Gobillard & Fils estate, production director Alexandre Gobillard noted the harvest cycle has shortened from 100 days after flowering to 80 days; he aims to complete harvesting in about nine days using around 120 workers.
- Recruiting and housing roughly 100,000 seasonal workers poses logistical challenges as harvest windows shift, prompting commercial director Geoffrey Bonnet-Gobillard to note producers may reconsider long-established hand-harvesting practices.
- Representing 30,000 direct jobs and 5.7 billion euros in sales, the sector is investing in long-term research; Chatillon noted the industry has focused on climate change for 25 years, developing disease-resistant grape varieties that ripen later.
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14 Articles
14 Articles
Associated Press News+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
Champagne growers race to preserve quality in record-early harvest
Champagne producers are racing to pick grapes as the region experiences its earliest harvest on record.
·New York, United States
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The grapes have suffered from successive waves of heat. The wine growers have precipitated the harvest and fear that the quality will not be at the rendezvous because of the fruit too small and too sweet. In Champagne, the harvest is four times lower than usual in places. It is never seen, but the reserves of previous years will compensate. The fear is now that these years will be repeated. If the taste of champagne changes, the sector could be …
Coverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left6Leaning Right1Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 43%
C 50%
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