On 28 August in Saint-Emilion, France, pickers fanned out into the vineyard at Château Troplong Mondot. It was the earliest harvest start in the estate’s history.
Record-breaking early picking was a key feature of harvest 2025. In Alsace, the date was 19 August; in Champagne, 20 August; for the white grapes in the Rhône Valley, mid-August, two weeks earlier than last year. In Germany’s Rheingau region, some grapes were picked at the end of August, three weeks earlier than the long-term average.
In most European wine spots, harvests were speedy too. At first-growth Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, the first red grapes came in on 5 September, and picking wrapped up historically early, on 20 September.
It’s clear that rising temperatures and the extreme weather of climate change are compressing the growing season and shifting the harvest timetable. The good news this year is that winemakers from France to Germany to Spain (with some exceptions) are excited by the promise of high-quality wine, even though yields are lower than they would like.
For that, blame the extended heatwaves, drought and destructive wildfires that now regularly play havoc with both quantity and quality and seem to affect different wine regions around the world every year.
According to a global study released in May by two French agricultural research institutes and the University of British Columbia, wine-growing regions have warmed, on average, by the equivalent of nearly 100 extra growing degree days over the past 70 years. Growing degree days are a measure of the cumulative heat vines are exposed to, which influences growth and ripening. Europe has felt the biggest impact.
In every vintage, the effects can be uneven. Take France. When it comes to quality, Bordeaux lucked out in 2025. A hot, dry summer brought good ripeness, and cooler weather and a bit of rain at the end of August restored balance. The grapes at Mouton Rothschild were rich and in good condition, and the team expects a classic vintage with great structure, concentration and ageing potential.
By contrast, in the south of France, the local producers’ organisation in Corbières dubbed 2025 “the summer of hell.” In mid-August, the largest wildfire in France in more than 70 years destroyed 80% to 90% of some vineyards, including those of organic Clos de l’Anhel and Cellier des Demoiselles.
Extremely hot, dry conditions help fires spread faster, burn longer and rage more intensely, as they also did this year in northwestern Spain, on Napa’s Howell Mountain and in Portugal’s Douro Valley. Winemakers worry that wines from vines that didn’t burn will be affected by smoke taint and end up with ashy flavours.
The roller-coaster of what happens during harvest is why it’s a high-emotion season for winemakers.
Oregon winemaker Maggie Harrison of Antica Terra described the stress this way: “I didn’t sleep a wink last night. But I always know that when I step up to the sorting table, there is a reserve of energy, a switch-on kind of magic that happens, and I can’t flipping wait.”
Translation: Deep down winemakers are always optimists.
Climate change isn’t the only challenge for harvest 2025. Consumption is down, and tariffs promise price hikes. Vineyards are being pulled out everywhere from Sonoma to Bordeaux. Even if the wines this year are excellent, the big question is: Will people buy them?
Here’s an overview, by region:
England
No frost and a long, even summer meant perfect ripening for both chardonnay and pinot noir. The warmest summer on record brought both exceptional quality and abundant quantity, a far cry from last year. Although 75% of English wine is sparkling, ripeness levels were high enough for producers to make more still wines to fulfill growing demand from the 55% increase in vineyard visitors over the last 12 months.
France
Alsace
According to the Alsace Winegrowers Association, it was the earliest harvest ever recorded. A warm spring, followed by back-to-back summer heat waves with rain at just the right moments, sped up ripening. Expect rieslings with crystalline acidity and concentrated pinot noirs with beautiful balance.
Bordeaux
“The growing season unfolded with remarkable serenity,” said Veronique Sanders of Château Haut Bailly in Pessac-Léognan over e-mail. “A dry hot summer resulted in small berries with a striking concentration of aromas and structure.” Jean-Philippe Delmas of first-growth Château Haut-Brion cited the wines’ vibrant acidity and remarkable balance. It’s a sharp contrast to 2024, with its spring frosts, mildew and the lowest level of production since 1991. Will 2025 continue the tradition of great years ending in “5”?
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