Afternoon pick banned: Franciacorta under floodlights at 4 a.m.
Labor rules pause midday work in the heat. Crews start around 4 a.m. so grapes stay cool — cool fruit means fresher juice for traditional-method sparkle.
When the afternoon is illegal for fieldwork, harvest moves into the dark.
AP reporting carried by Fortune and other outlets describes Franciacorta crews starting around 4 a.m. under floodlights after weeks of extreme heat near 37–38°C. Regional labor rules require a break roughly from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., but producers say afternoon shifts have often become impractical anyway. Early picks — Berlucchi among them — bring cooler clusters to the press so juice stays fresh for bottle-fermented sparkling wine that needs acidity, not cooked fruit. Presses then run late to keep up with the rush.
Mini-lesson: cool fruit is a quality tool. Warm grapes start unwanted chemistry before they even reach the winery. Night and predawn picks are not theater; they are temperature control with scissors and lights for workers and for juice.
For drinkers, that 4 a.m. shift is why a serious Franciacorta can still taste bright after a brutal August. Choosing traditional-method sparkle over a random sweet can is choosing labor timing as part of the flavor.
Pattern: afternoon ban, 4 a.m. lights, cool juice. Fresh bubbles begin before sunrise.
Source: Fortune