The 2026 harvest clock is ticking

There is something very peaceful about the beginning of August in Champagne, as just about everyone has left the region. This year, the winegrower exodus began last week, but this week, Hautvillers really resembles a Spanish or Italian village at siesta time: bar a few tourists, there is no-one to be seen. It normally stays like this till August 15^th, but yesterday, the Comité Champagne (CIVC)’s research, development and innovation team shocked winegrowers out of their holiday lull. The first official “réseau matu” (RM), Champagne’s highly formatted pre-harvest network that monitors the vines ripening cycle, fired off an email urging everyone to return to Champagne because grapes are ripening at lightning speed. The email started in a large bold font stating “never seen before” and continued by announcing that the “ban des vendanges” – the yearly meeting where the harvest starting date per village and per variety is set – has been pushed forward by three days (now 12^th August) to “meet the exceptionally speed at which grapes are ripening” this year. The local paper l’Union published a video on Instagram stating that the CIVC had wanted to have the ban des vendanges on August 8^th, but with everyone away, it was unlikely that unanimous starting dates could have been set.