Grape harvesting has begun at record-breaking speeds across major central European wine regions, with growers at Germany's Kaiserstuhl already picking fruit weeks ahead of the traditional late-August start, following earlier industry forecasts of an outstanding vintage despite severe dry conditions.
The Badischer Weinbauverband expects climate change to keep pushing harvest dates earlier in future seasons, while the Weinbauverband Württemberg projects general picking across its region from early September. At the Kaiserstuhl, smaller berries from persistent drought are expected to reduce yields by 10 to 20 percent compared with last year. Seasonal labour planned for late August may arrive to find half the crop already in.
In Austria, where the past twelve months were the driest in 176 years of records, Burgenland growers anticipate yields falling 20 to 30 percent below last season. The Winzervereinigung Freyburg-Unstrut, managing 390 hectares and expecting up to 2.2 million litres, began quality assessments this week ahead of a mid-September harvest in the Saale-Unstrut region.