Back in November Gaia reported that climate change was great news for the production of bubbly in the Champagne region of France. The temperature increase there has reduced frost damage, resulting in bigger harvests and tastier, more alcoholic champagne. But what about those not fond of the fizz?

Good news! Boffins at NASA have undertaken some very important research into the link between climate change and wine quality, and it turns out that global warming is only serving to further improve the quality of French wine. The NASA study found climate change is shifting wine grape harvests earlier in France and Switzerland, leading to the increased production of better quality wines, typically associated with earlier harvests. Ben Cook, lead author and climate scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said:

“Wine grapes are one of the world’s most valuable horticultural crops and there is increasing evidence that climate change has caused earlier harvest days in this region in recent decades. Our research suggests that the climate drivers of these early harvests have changed.”

In other words: the hotter it gets, the better the wine tastes. If we’re all going to drown as sea levels rise, at least we can do it while sipping a bloody good vintage!