While wine folk out in Tokaj often spend their Augusts praying that their grapes will be infected with the "noble rot" known as aszú, down in the red wine country around Villány, people are worried about the increasing spread of an "ignoble" form of grape rot. According to local portal bama.hu, the incidence of the powdery mildew known in Hungarian as lisztharmat or szőlőlisztharmat (and in Latin as Erysiphe necator or Uncinula necator, pictured left) is the worst in two decades, and will force many winegrowers to begin their harvesting a few weeks early.

According to Villány wine region chairman József Bock, picking will probably start next week because of the lisztharmat. But Bock said his people are urging growers to wait at least until September 1 to pick, adding that the countermeasures against lisztharmat have not seemed to be as effective this year as in the past.

Despite the problem, Bock said he expects that the vintage will prove excellent if the weather holds up, adding that it is currently similar to that which resulted in the top wines of the 2000s, notably 2000, 2002 and 2003. So pray for sun, and for whatever chemicals they are using to kill this icky stuff to start working ASAP.