Before dawn, workers in Italy's Franciacorta region fan out to clip grape clusters, beginning the harvest a full 10 days earlier than anticipated. Scorching temperatures have forced this accelerated schedule, pushing labor into the pre-dawn hours and under floodlights to preserve the quality of grapes destined for Italy’s prized sparkling wine.
This frantic pace is driven by weeks of temperatures reaching highs between 37 and 38 degrees Celsius (99 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit), combined with below-average rainfall. Winemakers in Franciacorta have recorded their earliest start ever, 10 days earlier than last year and approximately a month earlier than three decades ago.
Berlucchi CEO Arturo Ziliani, whose family pioneered sparkling wine production in the region, stated, “These are delicate, frantic moments, and everything has to work perfectly.” He added, “We did not expect such an early harvest or such an acceleration in ripening,” highlighting the industry's reactive scramble to maintain product standards and market value.
Several factors contributed to this year's early harvest. A mild winter led to earlier bud production, and hailstorms damaged some yield, which lightened the fruit and accelerated its maturation. Even in late July, Berlucchi had targeted an August 10 harvest date, but rapidly rising sugar levels in Pinot Nero grapes forced an immediate change.
Within two days, workers were "mustered" and presses readied for the expedited operation. The midday heat has become so extreme that regional labor rules mandate workers stop between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. However, winemakers report it's been too hot for any afternoon shift at all.
Labor Under the Floodlights
To compensate for lost daylight hours and prevent grapes from overheating, Berlucchi began its harvest at 4 a.m. last week. Workers now pick under floodlights, enduring conditions dictated by capital's demand for uncompromised product quality. Ferdinando Dell’aquila, Berlucchi’s technical director, confirmed the grapes are “perfectly healthy” but emphasized, “We just have to work as quickly as possible, harvest them and preserve their acidity.”
This shift in labor practices isn't isolated to Franciacorta. Sicily began its still wine harvest in late July, with parts of Tuscany and most sparkling wine regions also starting early. The challenge is particularly acute for Champagne-style sparkling wines, which demand a precise balance of high acidity, low pH, and lower sugars.
Professor emeritus Attilio Scienza of the University of Milan explained, “Early-ripening varieties such as Chardonnay require great care, because a delay of just a couple of days can leave you with grapes unsuitable for sparkling wine. Sugar rises too quickly and acidity falls too quickly.” The market's demand for specific product characteristics directly translates into intensified labor pressure.
Capital's Adaptation, Workers' Burden
High outdoor temperatures necessitate cooling grapes before they are gently pressed in stainless steel machines to extract high-quality free-run juice. This crucial step cannot be rushed, yet the overall process is compressed. Berlucchi operates up to 24 presses daily, often late into the night, to process the unusually early harvest.
Berlucchi remains Franciacorta’s largest producer, churning out approximately 4 million bottles annually. This accounts for about 20% of the Franciacorta consortium’s total production of roughly 20 million bottles. Most of these bottles, 90%, are sold within Italy, with the remainder exported to lucrative markets including Germany, Switzerland, the United States, and Japan, securing significant revenue for the producers.
Paolo Castelletti, secretary general of the Italian Wine Union, acknowledged that “Climate change and the African weather systems settling over Europe are bringing extraordinary temperatures and forcing early picking, not only in Italy, but also in France and Germany.” He concluded that while “wine quality is not compromised,” it “simply requires a different organization of work than in past years.” This “different organization” primarily falls on the shoulders of the workers, who must adapt to harsher conditions and altered schedules to maintain capital's output.