In Alsace, particularly early harvests: “Everyone was a bit surprised”

A gentle, cool wind blows between the rows of vines, bringing a little freshness to the sun whose rays are already piercing the thin skin of the grapes. On this late Friday morning, in the Moellinger vineyard, adjacent to Colmar (Haut-Rhin), around ten harvesters have been busy since dawn, on a plot of Chardonnay, picking the ripe bunches that will be used to produce Crémant d'Alsace, a controlled designation of origin. Protecting her head with a pink bob, Denise, 68, smiles: "I was a bit caught off guard, I was called earlier this year." This retired nurse is starting her eleventh year of harvesting for the Moellingers. Next to her, Juliette, 26, a German teacher, and Enora, 19, a second-year psychology student, had planned to block out the month of August