Last year turned out to be a great one for wine. Here is what to expect from some of the world’s premier regions
On Aug 28 last year, in Saint-Émilion, France, pickers fanned out into the vineyard at Château Troplong Mondot. It was the earliest harvest start in the estate’s history.
Record-breaking early picking was a key feature of harvest 2025. In Alsace, the date was Aug 19; in Champagne, Aug 20; for the white grapes in the Rhône Valley, mid-August, two weeks earlier than last year. In most European wine spots, harvests were speedy too. At first-growth Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, the first red grapes came in on Sept 5, and picking wrapped up historically early, on Sept 20.
It is clear that rising temperatures and climate change are compressing the growing season and shifting the harvest timetable. The good news is that winemakers across Europe (with some exceptions) are excited by the promise of high-quality wine, even though yields are lower than they would like.
For that, blame the extended heatwaves, drought and destructive wildfires that now regularly play havoc with both quantity and quality and seem to affect different wine regions around the world every year.
According to a global study released in May by two French agricultural research institutes and the University of British Columbia, wine-growing regions have warmed, on average, by the equivalent of nearly 100 extra growing degree days over the past 70 years. Growing degree days are a measure of the cumulative heat vines are exposed to, which influences growth and ripening. Europe has felt the biggest impact.
See also: Out of the bag
In every vintage, the effects can be uneven. Take France. When it comes to quality, Bordeaux lucked out in 2025. A hot, dry summer brought good ripeness, and cooler weather and a bit of rain at the end of August restored balance. The grapes at Mouton Rothschild were rich and in good condition, and the team expects a classic vintage with great structure, concentration and ageing potential.
By contrast, in the south, the local producers’ organisation in Corbières dubbed 2025 “the summer of hell”. In mid-August, the largest wildfire in France in more than 70 years destroyed 80% to 90% of some vineyards. Extremely hot, dry conditions help fires spread faster, burn longer and rage more intensely. Winemakers worry that wines from vines that did not burn will be affected by smoke taint and end up with ashy flavours.
The roller-coaster of what happens during harvest is why it is a high-emotion season for winemakers. Oregon winemaker Maggie Harrison of Antica Terra described the stress: “I didn’t sleep a wink last night. But I always know that when I step up to the sorting table, there is a reserve of energy, a switch-on kind of magic that happens, and I can’t flipping wait.”
See also: The wine whisperer
Climate change is not the only challenge for harvest 2025. Consumption is down, and tariffs promise price hikes. Vineyards are being pulled out everywhere from Sonoma to Bordeaux. Even if the wines this year are excellent, the big question is: Will people buy them?
Here is an overview of a few key regions:
FRANCE
According to the Alsace Winegrowers Association, it was the earliest harvest ever recorded. A warm spring, followed by back-to-back summer heatwaves with rain at just the right moments, speeded up ripening. Expect rieslings with crystalline acidity and concentrated pinot noirs with beautiful balance.
Meanwhile, in Bordeaux, Veronique Sanders of Château Haut Bailly in Pessac-Léognan says: “The growing season unfolded with remarkable serenity. A dry hot summer resulted in small berries with a striking concentration of aromas and structure.” Jean-Philippe Delmas of first-growth Château Haut-Brion cited the wines’ vibrant acidity and remarkable balance. Will 2025 continue the tradition of great years ending in “5”?
“Small but beautiful and similar in style to 2020 and 2022” is the assessment of Frédéric Drouhin, president of Maison Joseph Drouhin, which owns organic vineyards all over Burgundy. Although the crop is down 30% compared to a “normal” year, he says, “the premiers crus reds of the Côte de Beaune are really fantastic and homogeneous, while the whites show intense aromatics”.
Champagne enthusiasts rejoice: Producers are hailing 2025 as the best vintage in 30 years. It was so rapid that chef de cave (cellar master) Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, who presided over Champagne Louis Roederer’s 250th harvest, refers to it as “the Formula One vintage” and had presses going around the clock. “The year will remain etched in the memory of great winegrowers and winemakers,” crows Sébastien Le Golvet, chef de cave at Champagne Henri Giraud. “The first wines are extraordinary.”
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The excellent ripeness of Pinot Noir and Pinot meunier suggests great potential for rosés in 2025, according to Taittinger’s vineyard director.
Harvest started 10 days earlier in the Rhône than last year, thanks to an intense heatwave in August and no rain. Stephane Ogier of the eponymous domaine in Côte-Rôtie says wines show “great finesse and magnificent concentration, with roundness and density rather than tannic power”.
But in the Languedoc, August heatwaves, hail and wild boar reduced the crop, and disastrous fires with flames that reached 10m high torched some vineyards in Corbières. There are worries about smoke taint, but some producers say reds that are left are velvety and fresh.
ITALY
Great expectations of exceptional quality from north to south. Some regions produced 10% less than last year, but in quantity, Italy is the leading wine producer this year, surpassing France.
Where Prosecco is concerned, Franco Adami, president of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Consortium, says the vintage is exceptional in terms of quality, one of the three or four best of the last three decades, especially when it comes to aromas.
In the Chianti Classico wine region, Isole e Olena posted, “all signs point to a vintage of remarkable character”. Expect wines with brightness and freshness, subtle floral hints, delicate fruit notes and elegance.
Antonio Rallo of Donnafugata winery in Sicily sees “2025 as a return to normalcy”. He adds: “It’s better than the previous year, and the quality of the grapes looks promising.” Along with good rainfall, Rallo cites no prolonged heat extremes or drought, unlike last year. It was a vintage that did not require an early harvest. A high point is the delicious Frappato.
SPAIN + PORTUGAL
It is complicated. Quantity is generally down in Spain, and wines in many regions will be excellent, but disaster struck in Galicia. Catastrophic fires charred vineyards and poured out thick clouds of smoke in Valdeorras, Bierzo and trendy Ribeira Sacra. Some wineries, like Alvaredos-Hobbs, will not release any 2025 wines.
In Catalonia, the home territory of Familia Torres, rainfall in the spring was welcome after three years of severe drought. Torres sees reds with promising red fruit flavour profiles, length, freshness and good acidity, compared to previous years. And in Ribera del Duero, Vega Sicilia reports the year is outstanding.
Portugal’s 2025 growing season was one of the most challenging in recent decades. In the Douro, Charles Symington, head winemaker at Symington Family Estates, cites drought and severe heatwaves, with 10 days above 40°C. Grapes are 30% smaller than average, which means a lot less wine, though it will be concentrated and potentially very good.
The US
An unusually cool growing season and no extreme heat spikes in Napa resulted in bright but rich wines with complex flavours and aromas. Matt Crafton of Château Montelena finds the vintage is similar to 2018; winemaker Dan Petroski of Massican, sees lighter, brighter, fresher whites.
But the year was still brutal. The lack of demand means some grapes will rot on the vines. And on Howell Mountain, the August Pickett Fire damaged grapes with heat or smoke at more than half a dozen wineries. Robert Craig Winery lost about 90% of production; Dunn lost it all.
“The 2025 vintage is a special one,” says Jesse Katz of Aperture, Sonoma. Cooler weather — the coldest July since 2010 — resulted in whites with incredibly complex flavours and aromas, and cabernets with balance and elegance. And on the coast, pinot maker Jamie Kutch of his eponymous winery explains that a cool, foggy summer slowed ripening and preserved freshness and acidity. He is “cautiously optimistic” for elegant, nuanced wines.
Optimism reigns for a spectacular vintage for Oregon. Early and fast made for a crazy-busy harvest. A warm dry summer, then a series of 35°C-plus days pushed things along quickly. Winemaker Piper Underbrink of Sealionne Wines and Privé Vineyards sees the perfect concentration, balance and excellent acidity needed for a vintage to age. Think rich, ripe wines. The biggest challenge: shortage of labour. — Bloomberg
