Extreme Heat Triggers Unprecedented Early Harvest Across France's Wine Regions

Across the sun-scorched vineyards of Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy, an industry built on the sanctity of timing has been forced to act before it was ready. Record summer heat in France accelerated grape ripening by weeks, compelling vintners to harvest in mid-August what tradition has always reserved for late September or October. It is a disruption that veterans say they have never witnessed in their lifetimes — and one that may signal not an exception, but a new and permanent condition for one of civilization's oldest agricultural arts.