Italian Wine Harvest Comes Very Early

In Italy, this year's grapes are being harvested three or four weeks earlier than usual, and vineyard workers are wondering how much global warming is to blame. Early harvests aren't unknown throughout history, according to a story in The Advertiser.

But wine grapes are among the crops that could be affected by climate shifts if nothing is done to slow global warming, scientists have warned. In the United States, for instance, the Northeast has begun to flourish as a wine making region as excessively cold winter nights have become less frequent. As the trend continues, wine-growing regions may well expand into climates that today are too cold.

For more on wine making and climate change, read The Daily Green's interview with David Wolfe, one of the top U.S. scientists studying climate and farming: European Wine Grapes Get Unlikely Boost From Climate Change. Unfortunately, neither fruit orchards, nor fall foliage, will fare as well.

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