After several months of unusually clear skies and record temperatures across Hungary, it is already certain that 2007 will turn out to be a vintage to remember. The question is whether the wines produced during this year of savage sun and heat will be remembered for actually being good.

According to a mid-summer round-up by Hungarian business daily Napi Gazdaság, the high temperatures both in the spring and last month have pushed the growing schedule ahead by about three weeks on average in Hungary, with several varietals already being picked. The paper quoted National Council of Wine Communities (HNT) head secretary Csaba Horváth as calling the situation "challenging, but not unknown" to Hungarian winemakers, and reminiscent of the 2000 and '03 vintages.

Horváth also said that this year harvest time should not be determined by sugar content, but rather acidity, explaining that if winemakers wait for the sugar content to rise to a level potentially possible because of the heat, the acid will be dead, leading to wines that are "spineless, soft, hard to preserve, and quick to get old." But he said that a bit of rain could salvage the situation, especially in the case of late-ripening red grapes. Overall, Napi's piece said 2007 will probably result in a good vintage needing a lot of hard work by winemakers.

But leading wine blog Borravaló is not so sure. It polled several leading vintners - including Takler, Vesztergombi, Sárosdi, Mészáros and Sebestyén - who said the extreme heat has hit sugar production, and otherwise thinks '07 may be one to forget.

While Borravaló and its sources are in general pessimistic about '07, the site says to expect some interesting surprises, explaining that winemakers who have plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc or Merlot that are shielded from the savage sun are likely to find luck. If only we were so lucky; when we checked them out yesterday, most of the grapes in our dinky vineyard (pictured above) looked so sun-shocked and parched we'll be surprised if they're still on the vines come next weekend.