Doomed to 40 Years of Vintages of the Century

If climate scientists in Europe are to be believed, it looks like Europe's major winegrowing regions might "suffer" through a vintage of the century for almost each year of the next 40 to 50 years. These experts predict that "Europe will experience 50 percent less rainfall in summer and 30 percent more rainfall in winter", according to a recent report in the Financial Times.

In short, such a forecast means a weather similar to that of 2005, which has produced one of the greatest vintages in the winegrowing regions of Bordeaux, the Loire, Burgundy, Alsace, the Rhône, Piedmont, and Germany. Already 2006 is shaping up so far as another stellar year in many of France's wine regions. July is reported the hottest on record since 1950 and though rainfall was 10% higher than average, June's rainfall was down to just 50% of average.