French harvest could plummet to "historic low" as frost takes its toll
France’s wine production could plummet to a record low this year, following a challenging growing season in which grape growers have had to contend with frost and drought.
Vineyards in Bordeaux were particularly badly affected, with some grape growers from the south-west region reporting they might lose as much as half their crops.
According to the French Agriculture ministry, output could be down by as much as 17% this year, to between 37 million and 38.2 million hectoliters, down from 45.5 million in 2016. If these predictions are accurate and the harvest is only in the region of 37 million hectoliters, this would be “historically low” said the ministry, and lower than in 1991 when vines were devastated by hard frosts.
“This fall in production is primarily due to the severe frosts in the spring, which affected, at a sensitive stage of the vine’s growth, all the wine-growing basins to varying degrees,” said the ministry in a report.
Wine growers were forced to use heaters, candles and even the down draught from helicopters during the freeze in April to try and save their crops.
France’s wine production was already down in 2016 due to bad weather, when Champagne was one of the worst hit regions, down by more than 20% on the previous year as spring frosts were followed by other problems such as mildew.
This year’s Champagne harvest was expected to recover slightly, up by 8% but still 9% lower than the 2012 /2016 average. Meanwhile Bourgogne and Beaujolais regions which suffered major damage in 2016 fared better this year, with production expected to rise by 14%.