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In some Swiss wine regions, grape-picking has already begun, an unprecedented development for mid-August. <\/p>\n
Keystone \/ Julien Grindat <\/p>\n
Switzerland’s grape harvest is set to be exceptionally early this year as prolonged drought and high temperatures accelerate ripening. In some regions, picking has already begun, an unprecedented development for mid-August.\n<\/p>\n
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August 17, 2026 – 09:50\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAs strange as it may seem, we\u2019re harvesting on August 15,\u201d Aur\u00e8le Morf, owner of Cave Saint-Germain in Moutier, canton Jura, told Swiss public radio RTS on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Morf said the harvest is running several weeks ahead of normal. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2016, which was a particularly wet year, we finished on November 1. This year, I think we\u2019ll be done by early or mid-September,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When Morf decided a few years ago to plant vines in Grandval, canton Bern, at an altitude of 620 metres, the idea initially met resistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople said it was too high, that it wasn\u2019t a lakeside location. There were fears the grapes would never ripen,\u201d he recalled with a smile.<\/p>\n
Adapting to climate change<\/p>\n
Not all winegrowers in French-speaking Switzerland have started harvesting yet, but all are feeling the impact of this summer\u2019s heat and water shortage.<\/p>\n
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Climate adaptation\n <\/p>\n
Climate change \u2018shifting Europe\u2019s wine-growing regions\u2019 <\/p>\n
This content was published on <\/p>\n
Jul 13, 2026 <\/p>\n
Climate change fundamentally altering conditions for wine growing in Europe <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Read more: Climate change \u2018shifting Europe\u2019s wine-growing regions\u2019 In Cornaux, canton Neuch\u00e2tel, winegrower Quentin Divernois waters part of his vineyards daily, particularly plots with rocky soils.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, the grapes are plump, unlike on other plots suffering from the drought,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout irrigation, these vines would have withered.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere, some vineyards are coping better. In the Vully region, canton Fribourg, Pascal Matthey\u2019s vines benefit from deep roots and deeper soils, making them more resilient to heat and drought.<\/p>\n \u201cThe berries are small and there are signs of water stress, which could produce slightly harsher wines,\u201d Matthey said. Yields are also expected to be lower than last year.<\/p>\n The industry has been preparing for a warmer climate for several years. Divernois, for example, is testing different rootstocks to identify varieties that are better able to withstand drought.<\/p>\n How we produce English news<\/a> Articles in this story <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In some Swiss wine regions, grape-picking has already begun, an unprecedented development for mid-August. Keystone \/ Julien Grindat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[56653,101,3931,454,458,100,103,41,17],"class_list":["post-116336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-arable-farming","tag-article","tag-beat-best-of-srg-content","tag-beat-climate-adaptation","tag-global-warming","tag-latest-news","tag-production-type-deepl-autotranslation","tag-swiss","tag-switzerland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117110027954730781","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Translated from French, reviewed by an\u00a0English Department<\/a> journalist.\u00a0<\/p>\n