Europe's wine industry may suffer with global warming, research shows

Global warming may hit wine lovers where it hurts the most - the pocket - as rising temperatures are likely to increase labor costs in Europe's vineyards, researchers said on Thursday.

In the hills behind Cyprus's coastal city of Limassol, grape pickers work in average peak temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees F) in August, a month when much of the harvest is brought in.

Researchers carrying out a small-scale study found that in the heat, labor loss rose as much as 27 percent and there was a 15 percent drop in the amount of time laborers were able to work.

If temperatures rise because of global warming, labour costs are likely to follow suit, said Andreas Flouris of the School of Exercise Science at the University of Thessaly in Greece.

"I would not be surprised to see the same results being repeated in California, across southern Europe and in...