Sparkling wine needs high acidity and moderate sugar. When heat rushes the grapes, that balance snaps forward — and the cellar has to follow.
In Franciacorta, Lombardy, Berlucchi began picking on 2 August 2026 after weeks of 37–38°C weather. That was roughly ten days earlier than planned and about a month sooner than three decades ago. Classic-method bubbles cannot wait politely. A two-day delay can push sugars too high and acids too low, and the finished wine loses the snap drinkers expect.
Midday labour rules force a pause from 12:30 to 16:00. So the house moved crews under floodlights from 4 a.m. Cooler fruit. Safer people. Presses running deep into the night. Night picking is no longer a curiosity photo. It is part of Franciacorta’s quality toolkit.
Climate does not only shrink the harvest window. It moves work into the dark. A cold can waits in the fridge with no clock. Classic bubbles ask for acid, timing, and people willing to start before dawn. That is the intentional choice behind the glass: a wine that still fights for freshness when August no longer feels like August.