Once the month when nothing happened, August 2026 is a fast-forward of the typical growing season. As I write, fruit is already in tank in three countries. California Napa began picking Chardonnay in Rutherford in the third week of July. And this was not a stunt pick for sparkling; this was table wine fruit, sampling at sugar levels that in a normal year wouldn’t surface until mid-August. Across the North Coast, the season is running two to three weeks ahead of average, and the Central……...