(Decanter) - Warm, sunny weather throughout June and July has prompted early harvests in northern Europe with Champagne and Alsace the latest to get underway this week. 

Grape pickers were preparing to get started in a handful of Champagne communes on 21 August, according to the region’s Comité Champagne.

Further east, Alsace winemakers were also preparing to begin picking grapes for Crémant sparkling wines from 22 August.

The news follows a record early harvest across the border in Germany, brought on largely by consecutive weeks of warm and sunny weather in June and July.

In Alsace, some producers expressed concern to Le Monde newspaper that it might be difficult to find enough grape pickers in August.

However, the Alsace Winemakers’ Association (AVA) has set the later date of 3 September as the start of harvesting for still, appellation wines in the region.