French wine production falls 10%

Inclement weather, violent hailstorms and spring frosts means that French wine production is likely to be 10% down on 2015, according to the French Ministry for Agriculture.

A French vineyard

Total production is expected to come in at 42.9m hectolitres (hl) (944m gallons) for 2016, down from last year’s 47.8m hl, the ministry’s statistical service, Agreste, said on Thursday.

It blamed the “spring freeze that hit certain wine-growing areas, recurring winds made worse by drought around the Mediterranean and damage stemming from frost” for the drop in production levels.

Champagne was one of the worst-hit regions after several bouts of spring frost and hailstorms which are forecast to drag output down by as much as a third.

An even larger drop in production is expected in the Loire Valley, where late spring frosts wiped out up to 30% of its harvest, according to an official report published by InterLoire.

In some areas, temperatures dropped to as low as -6°C as frost bit not only across the Loire, but in Burgundy and the Languedoc.

In the Loire, the worst affected areas were the vineyards of Touraine, Nantais and Sarthe, with losses of up to 80% in some communes.

In the Pic Saint Loup appellation of the Languedoc, sudden hailstorms last week devastated vineyards just weeks before harvest.

According to online wine magazine Terre de Vins, up to 60% of production in the Pic Saint Loup AOC has been affected, with the communes of Lauret, Claret, Valflaunès, Sauteyrargues and Corconne all hit.

The combined difficulties faced by various regions in Franc means that it will once again produce less wine than Italy, which last year climbed to the top of the table to become the world’s biggest producer by volume.