Heat forces Swiss grape harvest to start early

Swiss winegrowers have begun harvesting grapes unusually early as a result of the heat, SRF reported. The move is intended in part to prevent excessive alcohol levels and overly full-bodied wines, which are becoming less sought after.

Ticino winemaker Daniele Bettoni told RSI that harvesting usually begins at the end of August. “This year we are very early,” he said.

Valerio Cimiotti, director of Cantina di Giubiasco, a winery in Ticino, said he could not recall grapes ever being harvested so early in the region. “The heat is forcing us to do it,” he said. “It is something we did not actually want, but we have no other choice.”

Despite the early harvest, Nora Dauphin-Viret, a scientific adviser to the Swiss Winegrowers Association, said the heat could benefit the quality of the vintage. Grapevines generally cope relatively well with heat and drought because their deep roots can draw water from lower soil layers, she told SRF.

Winegrowers in Graubünden also expect a particularly good vintage. Experience after the hot summer of 2003 supports their optimism. Although many feared the drought would harm taste and ageing potential, Dauphin-Viret said wines from 2003, including white wines, had turned out to be surprisingly good.

Yields are a greater concern for many producers. Cimiotti said he did not expect large harvests and would be satisfied if production matched last year’s level. Water shortages caused by the heat and drought are affecting vineyards across the country.

In Cornaux in the canton of Neuchâtel, winemaker Quentin Divernois must water part of his vineyards every day, especially plots on rocky ground with little soil. The grapes there are large, unlike those in other plots suffering from drought. “Without irrigation, these vines would have withered,” he told RTS.

Pascal Matthey’s vines in Vully in the canton of Fribourg are deeply rooted in thick soil and have coped relatively well with the heatwaves. Even there, however, the grapes are small and under water stress, which could make the wines somewhat harder or more bitter.

The Swiss wine industry had already begun adapting to climate change before this exceptionally hot summer. Divernois, for example, is testing different rootstocks to determine which cope best with drought.