Even though most vineyards in Hungary will not be picked over for at least another month, some grape growers are already fretting over how the '08 harvest will shape up. According to daily Népszabadság, up to a third of the szüret could be lost if the stormy weather we've seen in recent weeks continues. Meanwhile, others knee-deep in the local wine-making business are warning of a looming man-made calamity potentially worse than a gale-force hail storm like the one pictured above left.

Csaba Horváth the head of the National Council of Wine Communities (Hegyközségek Nemzeti Tanácsa) told the paper that, judging by the state of things today, this year's harvest is likely to produce around 300 million liters of wine, or roughly equivalent to domestic consumption (each of Hungary's 10 million inhabitants drinks approximately 30 liters of wine every year). So if the weather takes a turn for the worse, there could be a shortage of local grapes, and a corresponding jump in local prices.

While this might be a bummer for local winos, it could be a major disaster for local winemakers, as the domestic industry is already under significant pressure from foreign competition, like the Frenchman pictured next to the hailstorm above. Horváth pointed out that imports are on a major upswing, from roughly 100,000 hectoliters (10 million liters) two years ago to 260,000 hectoliters this year, compared to a modest growth in exports of just over 5% in the first part of this year.