There is little question that climate change is affecting wine making around the world. Champagne is reporting the earliest harvests in history. Bordeaux has allowed six new grapes (two whites and four reds) to be included in their wines because of the difficulties encountered in growing the traditional ones. Drought plus exceptional heat waves have affected the growing season in northern California.
Only time will tell how that will affect what we wine lovers will find in our glasses from the 2026 and later harvests. We shouldn’t just jump to the conclusion that it will be worse. Perhaps ingenious winemakers will create wines that are more robust and are drinkable sooner. Of course, we also must be prepared for thinner, more acidic wines from these years.
But how does the change in the climate affect the pleasant avocation of visiting Wine Country and tasting wine at the wineries? There are several answers.
- Those who enjoy being in Wine Country for the crush will need to travel earlier in the year. If, for example, they want to be in Champagne to watch grapes being picked, transported and crushed, they will have to be there in late July or early August, rather than September as in the past. That means traveling in periods of peak heat. How hot could that be? The peak temperature in Champagne this summer was 104oF (40oC). That’s enough to make any trip unforgettable, but not in a good way.
- It may be more crowded. Despite the temperature, many people do take their vacations in mid-summer. That’s when school is out and families can travel. This is especially true in France, where Parisians leave town for the whole month of August to travel south. Maybe they will head north in the future, but who can tell?
- Even September can be very hot. Europe experienced several exceptional heat waves in 2026. Even in September, temperatures in Bordeaux and Tuscany reached into the mid- to high 90’s (Fahrenheit). So that period of time that used to be the best for visiting these locales has the worst of both worlds: high temperatures and grapes already picked.
- Maybe stick to the premier American wine tasting. Yes, California had higher than usual temperatures in many regions, but summers in the Wine Country of that state have always been hot. Maybe heat is built into the way vineyard managers have always grown grapes. Temperatures have moderated at summer’s end…this year. It would be wise in future years to check weather conditions, even in the US.
- We may have to adjust. If climate change accelerates, we all may be drinking Norwegian Cabernet Sauvignon! Or maybe we’ll start to learn our lessons and start being smarter about how we use energy to lower the heat. In the meantime, growers and winemakers will continue to do the best they can.