After a Record-Early Harvest, Wine Travel Heads Uphill
France picked grapes in mid-July this year. For 2027, the better wine trips are cooler, higher and timed differently.
For anyone who follows wine, the 2026 vintage told the story of the summer. On 15 July, a plot of Muscat at Domaine Champ des Sœurs in Fitou was picked: the earliest harvest ever recorded in France, ten days ahead of the 2022 record, according to L'Atelier du Vin. Champagne and Bordeaux both started on 6 August. Agreste, the French farm ministry's statistics service, said Champagne finished picking in early September, the first time that has happened. Its October estimate puts national output at nearly 35 million hectolitres, 14 percent below the five-year average, with Champagne down 48 percent on 2025.
This matters for travelers in two ways. Harvest, when cellars are busy and visits are limited, now falls in August in some places. And wine travel is moving toward cooler ground.
Where to drink next summer
European Best Destinations' ranking of wine regions for 2027, reported by Forbes on 1 October, makes the point. First is Štajerska, in Slovenia: rolling hills, family estates, and in Maribor a vine said to be about 450 years old. Third is Ribeira Sacra in Galicia, where Mencía grows on steep terraces above the Sil and Miño canyons. Kamptal in Austria, known for Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, is fourth. Valle d'Aosta, Italy's smallest wine region, with Alpine vineyards at altitude, is tenth. Naoussa in northern Greece, home of Xinomavro on the foothills of Mount Vermio, is twelfth.
For 2027
- Visit in June, when estates have time to talk and the vines are in leaf.
- Ask about harvest dates before booking an August trip. They are arriving earlier.
- Choose river valleys and altitude over hot plains. The long lunch is better at 25°C.
