2024-08-09 12:09:56
France’s 2024 harvest is expected to be “down in almost all wine-producing regions,” according to preliminary estimates released Friday by the Agriculture Ministry. The trend is of course temporary and could still change depending on weather conditions between now and September, but wine production this year will be between 40 and 43 million hectoliters, or 10 to 16 percent lower than in 2023 and up 3 to 10 percent compared with the average between 2019 and 2023, according to Agreste, the ministry’s statistics service. Here’s what explains the expected drop in production.
Too much rain in spring
The ministry explained that many vineyards “are experiencing blossom drop (the drop of flowers or young berries) and sometimes millelandage (berries of varying sizes), the result of wet and cool conditions during flowering”.
Heavy rains between October 2023 and June last year also had an impact on vine handling, with the vines quickly washed away.
Late blight breakthrough
This is another consequence of this very wet spring: frequent rains have favoured the spread of mildew on the vines. The ministry added that this fungus “affects most wine-producing regions and can cause significant losses”.
Mildew means “twice the working hours, twice the number of treatments, twice the costs, the teams are receiving calls in the evenings and weekends…” explains Stéphane Gabard, president of the Burgundy and Haute-Bourgogne vineyard union. “Since 2017, there has not been a campaign without a weather disaster… Resilience is at the heart of our profession, but this year many have thrown in the towel,” says the winegrower in Garcon (Gironde).
Frost and hail
Wine growers were not immune, suffering from particularly damaging hail storms in June and July. In Entre-Deux-Mers, it was reported that 70% to 80% of the vineyards in the region were affected by hail in July, due to several storms in a three-week period. Professional website VitisphèreThe Gironde Chamber of Agriculture estimates that “nearly 6,000 hectares of vines have been affected to varying degrees” following the severe hailstorms that hit the night of June 18-19: “2,000 hectares in the Nord-Médoc and 3,500 to 4,000 hectares in the Libournais region (Fronsac, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Les Artigues-de-Lussac, etc.). »
On June 19, a hailstorm again crossed the Rhône and Saône-et-Loire rivers. Affects 30% to 40% of vineyards (Beaujolais and Burgundy) are on their way. On July 11, 800 hectares of vineyards in the Ardèche were destroyed by hail.
The April frosts caused damage to vines in the Lot valley. Anne Swartvagher, manager of Château Saint-Sernin, estimates that 95% of the estates were affected. “If we apply 10 to 15 hectolitres per hectare, that would be the maximum. With less than 5 hectolitres, we can’t even harvest,” she sighed.
Drought in Languedoc-Roussillon
This is a special case for all French vineyards. In the Languedoc-Roussillon region, we are suffering from drought again this year. “It is catastrophic, everything is drying up,” lamented Etienne Laris, 50, president of the Mont Tauch cooperative in southeastern Aude. He expects yields of around 20 hl/ha, compared with the usual 35 hl/ha.
Excavations in Bordeaux
According to the logic of “stop” Golden » As one of the most destructive diseases for vineyards, the State and the CIVB have launched a campaign to uproot 9,500 hectares of vines in Bordeaux by the end of 2023, offering financial compensation. So far, 8,000 hectares have been the subject of requests for assistance. This will also affect the production of a region with 110,000 hectares of vineyards, even if another objective of the campaign is also to rebalance production in the context of a drop in French wine consumption, especially for red wines.
“Over the past three years, red wine sales have fallen by 15% for the mass market, and between 3% and 5% for white and rosé,” said Jérôme Despey, president of the public FranceAgriMer wine expert committee. He is particularly concerned about the economic difficulties encountered by red wine producers in the southwest, Occitanie and the Rhône Valley. Other vineyards may also be tempted by the clean-up campaign.
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