As incredible as it may seem, the harvest has already started in Burgundy.
The date of August 15 is consistent with the logic of 100 days after flowering, but it is not as simple as that, and wine producers finally relied on late August/ early September, especially because of the drought that creates water stress in the vineyard and prevents proper ripening, although the amounts of sugar are (largely) sufficient.
…And so the 2020 harvest in Burgundy will start well at the end of the month, with some exceptions. Among them the Crémants, which are traditionally harvested earlier because the level of sugar sought at harvest is lower.
This is how on the Côté de Rully in Côte Chalonnaise teams of harvesters were seen from the weekend of August 15, without this meaning a real start of the harvest campaign.
The fact remains that this 2020 vintage will be very early, it remains exceptional to harvest in August in this region, even if the scorching episodes are now regular.
