Cheers to a vintage summer!
While many have bemoaned this summer’s spectacular Europe-wide heatwave (I’m not one of them, I hasten to add) not everyone is struggling in the sun.
Granted, the Brits have suffered a lack of lettuce, while the Belgians have been forced to forage for fries (sizzling temperatures have shrunk the country’s early crop of potatoes by about one-third compared with an average year).
But not everyone is whingeing about the weather. In fact, vintners in Germany and France are positively embracing it – and raising a glass to a heatwave-induced early harvest.
Yields are predicted to be considerably higher than usual, and the long, hot weather is expected to produce better quality wine. That’s because the riper grapes have a higher sugar content and, therefore, a higher alcohol content.
So I would say that every cloud has a silver lining. But who can even remember what a cloud looks like?
