Storm Is Being Served, Even Though It Is 31 Degrees Outside

Who drinks Sturm in this heat? That was the incredulous question from a friend who normally longs for autumn and feels happiest in November drizzle. Yet the young wine has already appeared everywhere, even as September temperatures reach 31 degrees.

Sturm does not arrive early simply because shops decide to put it on their shelves. Unlike gingerbread or carnival pastries, its season depends on the grape harvest. This year’s harvest came exceptionally early, and the unusually warm September has left people drinking a beverage associated with rising fog, Rilke and the final days of sitting outdoors with blankets nearby.

The heat has become strangely ordinary. Even the friend who suffered through the summer has already written it off, because people adapt. We buy air conditioners when we can afford them, design apartment buildings with balconies, plant fig trees and oleanders, develop routines for airing out rooms, and wear sunscreen in September.

But small reminders can point to a much larger issue. Humans are not only highly capable of adapting; they can also plan for the long term. On the day this column was written, the temperature stood 9 degrees above average. By the time it becomes cool enough for Sturm, the drink may have lost its sweetness. Then wine, grape juice or beer will have to do, while the columnist thinks of her friend, the climate crisis and another possible column about it.

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Who drinks Sturm in these temperatures?