Swiss winegrowers begin harvest in mid-August for first time

Switzerland's grape harvest is set to be exceptionally early this year as prolonged drought and high temperatures accelerate ripening. In some regions, picking has already begun, an unprecedented development for mid-August. "As strange as it may seem, we're harvesting on August 15," Aurèle Morf, owner of Cave Saint-Germain in Moutier, canton Jura, told Swiss public radio RTS on Saturday. Morf said the harvest is running several weeks ahead of normal. "In 2016, which was a particularly wet year,…