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Drought forces earliest harvest ever in French wine country

Laurent Lebrun, director of the Château Olivier Grand Cru Classe de Graves estate, shows barrels of red wine in the cellar, in Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. The harvest that once started in mid-September is now happening earlier than ever in one of France’s most celebrated wine regions and other parts of Europe due to drought and climate change. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Workers check white grapes of sauvignon to remove the dry leaves at the Grand Cru Classe de Graves of the Château Carbonnieux, in Pessac Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The harvest that once started in mid-September is now happening earlier than ever in one of France’s most celebrated wine regions and other parts of Europe due to drought and climate change. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Eric Perrin, one of the owners of the Château Carbonnieux Grand Cru Classe de Graves, walks in the castle courtyard, with the two American pecan trees from Virginia, in background, that Thomas Jefferson offered in 1787, when he visited in Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Lea Lassere, oenology specialist, checks the level of a barrel during the harvest of white wine at the Château Olivier Grand Cru Classe de Graves estate, in Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The harvest that once started in mid-September is now happening earlier than ever in one of France’s most celebrated wine regions and other parts of Europe due to drought and climate change. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Workers collect white grapes of sauvignon in the Grand Cru Classe de Graves of the Château Carbonnieux, at Pessac Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. Eric Perrin, one of the owners of the estate, recalled that during his childhood, in the 1970s, harvests started around mid-September. This year, they began on Aug. 16. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Workers collect white grapes of sauvignon in the Grand Cru Classe de Graves of the Château Carbonnieux in Pessac Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The harvest that once started in mid-September is now happening earlier than ever in one of France’s most celebrated wine regions and other parts of Europe due to drought and climate change. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Grapes of cabernet wait to mature in the Grand Cru Classe de Graves of the Château Carbonnieux, at Pessac Leognan, south of Bordeaux, in Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Workers prepare the large vats to fill with wine during the early harvest of white grapes in the Grand Cru Classe de Graves of the Château Carbonnieux, at Pessac Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The harvest that once started in mid-September is now happening earlier than ever in one of France’s most celebrated wine regions and other parts of Europe due to drought and climate change. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Laurent Lebrun, director of the Château Olivier estate, goes through the vineyards to taste grapes from various areas and decide when harvesting is needed, in Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. The consequences of global warming are now part of daily life for vintners, Lebrun said, noting the speed of the changes. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) A firefighter unrolls a hose to spray water to put out the remains of fires in a forest in Hostens, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The season of heat waves and wildfires produced excellent grapes, despite lower yields. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) A helicopter carries a water bag to put out the remains of fires in a burned forest, in Hostens, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The season of heat waves and wildfires produced excellent grapes, despite lower yields. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) The bark of a burned pine tree is visible in a forest, in Hostens, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The season of heat waves and wildfires produced excellent grapes, despite lower yields. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) A firefighter sprays water to put out the remains of fires in a forest, in Hostens, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The season of heat waves and wildfires produced excellent grapes, despite lower yields. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) A helicopter carries a giant water bag to put out the remains of fires in a burned forest, in Hostens, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The season of heat waves and wildfires produced excellent grapes, despite lower yields. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) FILE - This photo provided by the fire brigade of the Gironde region SDIS 33, (Departmental fire and rescue service 33) shows an aerial view of a blaze near Saint-Magne, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Aug. 11, 2022. The season of heat waves and wildfires produced excellent grapes, despite lower yields. (SDIS 33 via AP, File) FILE - This photo provided by the fire brigade of the Gironde region SDIS 33, (Departmental fire and rescue service 33) shows a wildfire burning near Saint-Magne, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Aug. 12, 2022. The season of heat waves and wildfires produced excellent grapes, despite lower yields. (SDIS 33 via AP, File) Fabien Teitgen, technical director of the of the Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte estate, explains the conditions of this historically hot summer in Martillac, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. Teitgen said wine producers “must adapt” to the effects of climate change. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Manon Lecouffe, right, and Didier Lebas water newly planted vines to help them grow at Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Martillac, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. Vines that are several years old have deep roots that allow them to draw water from far underground and endure drought without suffering too much. But this year, estates had authorization to water adult vines, a practice usually banned in Bordeaux. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) Workers collect white grapes of sauvignon in the Grand Cru Classe de Graves of the Château Carbonnieux, in Pessac Leognan, south of Bordeaux, southwestern France, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The harvest that once started in mid-September is now happening earlier than ever in one of France’s most celebrated wine regions and other parts of Europe due to drought and climate change. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)