
-
Heathrow 'warned about power supply' days before shutdown
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre 'stable' after car crash
-
Myanmar quake survivors plead for more help
-
Greece to spend 25 bn euros in 'drastic' defence overhaul: PM
-
Maresca non-committal over Sancho's future at Chelsea
-
WHO facing $2.5-bn gap even after slashing budget: report
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tells tax trial did not seek to defraud
-
Chinese tourists pine for Taiwan's return as Beijing jets surround island
-
Singapore detains teenage boy allegedly planning to kill Muslims
-
What is the 'Qatargate' scandal roiling Israel?
-
AI coming for anime but Ghibli's Miyazaki irreplaceable, son says
-
Swedish insurer drops $160 mn Tesla stake over labour rights
-
Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli blockade forces bakeries shut
-
Rubio heads to Europe as transatlantic tensions soar
-
Like 'living in hell': Quake-hit Mandalay monastery clears away rubble
-
'Give me a break': Trump tariffs threaten Japan auto sector
-
US approves $5.58 bn fighter jet sale to Philippines
-
Tsunoda embracing pressure of Red Bull debut at home Japanese GP
-
'Outstanding' Hay shines as New Zealand seal Pakistan ODI series
-
El Salvador's Bukele flaunts 'iron fist' alliance with Trump
-
Stock markets mixed as uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
China probes for key target weak spots with 'paralysing' Taiwan drills
-
'Top Gun' and Batman star Val Kilmer dies aged 65: New York Times
-
US lawmakers seek to rename street for Hong Kong's jailed Jimmy Lai
-
Greece to spend big on 'historic' military shake up
-
Trump faces first electoral setback after Wisconsin Supreme Court vote
-
Hay shines as New Zealand beat Pakistan for ODI series win
-
Israel says expands Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Curry drops 52 as Warriors win, Jokic bags career-high 61 in Denver loss
-
South Korea mobilising 'all resources' for violence-free Yoon verdict
-
Myanmar quake victim rescued after 5 days as aid calls grow
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tax fraud trial set to begin
-
Warner showcases 'Superman' reboot, new DiCaprio film
-
'Incredible' Curry scores 52 as Warriors down Grizzlies, Bucks edge Suns
-
Asian markets edge up but uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
Nintendo's megahit Switch console: what to know
-
Nintendo to unveil upgrade to best-selling Switch console
-
China practises hitting key ports, energy sites in Taiwan drills
-
Oil, sand and speed: Saudi gearheads take on towering dunes
-
All eyes on Tsunoda at Japan GP after ruthless Red Bull move
-
'Image whisperers' bring vision to the blind at Red Cross museum
-
Hay shines as New Zealand make 292-8 in Pakistan ODI
-
Other governments 'weaponising' Trump language to attack NGOs: rights groups
-
UK imposes online entry permit on European visitors
-
How a Brazilian chief is staving off Amazon destruction
-
Meme politics: White House embraces aggressive alt-right online culture
-
China launches military drills in Taiwan Strait
-
US senator smashes record with 25-hour anti-Trump speech
-
Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
-
US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech

Climate change pushes Bordeaux winemakers to harvest at night
In France's southern Bordeaux region, the grape harvest is often now done at night to ensure the peak freshness required to obtain the best wine but this is also a response to climate change.
With the country sweltering in a late heatwave, it is 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) at five in the morning as a harvester crawls along a row of vines, powerful headlights helping guide its way through the darkness.
"Harvesting at night is done for the quality of the grapes, their freshness and taste," said the driver, Loic Malherbe, who has been at it for three hours already.
"It isn't bad, it's just life at a different rhythm... It's better for the equipment and for people."
It is already a common practice in several winemaking countries with hot summers but one that is likely to become even more common as climate change accelerates.
Harvesting at night can also help financially strapped growers save money, according to Kees Van Leeuwen, a professor of viniculture at Bordeaux Sciences Agro university.
It means they can skip refrigerating grapes while they are being hauled to be pressed, he explained.
"If harvesting is done at night the temperature of the grapes is lower, especially compared to the very hot days we've had this week," he said.
"There is a huge saving in energy use."
- Dry ice -
The harvester dumps the merlot grapes into bins which the vineyard's owner Stephane Heraud hitches to his tractor to haul to the cooperative.
"It's been 15 years that we've harvested the whites and the roses at night, and maybe one day we'll do that for the reds as well," said Heraud, who also heads the cooperative Vignerons de Tutiac.
"If we harvested at night, we'd have wine that is more oxidised, which in terms of taste is not nearly as nice."
Heraud climbs up onto his tractor and spreads dry ice (-80C, -112F) onto the grapes.
This not only helps keep the grapes cool but reduces the oxygen level in the bins as he drives to the cooperative, which is the largest in one of France's protected designation regions with 500 growers.
Tutiac has specialised in roses and accounts for nearly a third of the total produced in the Bordeaux region.
Its pesticide-free rose caused a stir at a blind tasting conducted by the French wine magazine La Revue des vins de France, being placed fourth among roses from the Provence region which traditionally take top marks in the category.
- Earlier harvests -
That night, growers were expected to dump some 500 tonnes of grapes into the various stainless-steel tanks at the wine press, enough to make half a million bottles of wine.
Tutiac's chief oenologist Paul Oui said consumers like roses that are light coloured and clear.
To achieve that "you have to limit the transfer of the colour from the skin to the juice and the earlier and cooler we harvest the more we can limit the transfer", he said.
Night harvesting is already common in Australia and California due to the heat, and the practice is spreading in the Bordeaux region according to Van Leeuwen.
"For whites and roses, one can imagine that it will become common practice," said the specialist.
Nor did he exclude that it might one day concern grapes for red wine, which account for 85 percent of Bordeaux's production.
Rising temperatures make grapes mature faster and push the harvest sooner and into warmer periods, and Heraud confirmed that harvests were indeed happening sooner and sooner.
"I remember when I was small watching my parents harvesting in November," he said.
"Last year, we were finished on September 30...," he added.
"Anyone who says climate change isn't real isn't a Bordeaux winemaker."
X.Karnes--AMWN