When a benchmark house turns on the vineyard lights in July, the whole region listens.
A Reuters-picked dispatch placed Gramona's 2026 start on 22 July — a night harvest billed as the earliest in Catalonia's modern sparkling calendar. Gramona is a Corpinnat reference for long ageing. That makes the date more than trivia. Base wine pressed in a heatwave will still be in bottle a decade later.
Mini-concept: sparkling wine is delayed climate. Decisions about acid and fruit ripeness happen at harvest, then sleep under cork. Night picking is a tool to keep grapes cool, protect acidity, and finish pressing before the afternoon furnace.
The pattern is familiar and sharper each year across Penedès: earlier calendars, more night shifts, tighter windows. Holiday suitcases may still be packing while the sparkling clock has already started.
Choice angle: cheap instant fizz competes with RTDs on no-plan nights. A long-aged Corpinnat bottle is an intentional occasion — food, friends, a reason. If you want that style to survive hotter summers, early night harvests are part of how it stays possible.
Climate datum to keep: 22 July, under lights. Catalonia's sparkling season now begins before many holidays do.