In Portugal, the cool of the night is when some vineyards harvest grapes

VIMIEIRO, Portugal (AP) — Under a moonlit sky and the glow of headlamps, workers gingerly pluck grape clusters while much of Portugal sleeps.

They harvest in the Alentejo region, sometimes called the “Tuscany of Portugal” for its rolling vineyards, olive groves and forests that supply cork for the wines. In this vineyard about a 90-minute drive east of Lisbon, the cool autumn night carries the smell of ripe fruit. The workers’ laughter blends with the sound of rustling leaves.

The night harvest is a time-honored practice in viticulture, meant to preserve the freshness of grapes and shield them from the adverse effects of daytime heat, sunlight and oxidation. As summers in Portugal grow longer, hotter and more unpredictable — in part due to climate change — the practice has become more co