Hailstorms batter Champagne wiping out 3% of crop

Champagne has been hit by another bout of bad weather with hailstorms reported to have damaged nearly 2,000 hectares of vines – with 3% of vineyards in the Champagne AOC completely destroyed.

“So far 1,800 hectares have been damaged of which 1,000 have been 100% destroyed, representing three percent of the total Champagne-growing area,” the Comité Champagne said on Wednesday, as reported by The Telegraph.

The damage translates to the equivalent of around 8 million bottles of Champagne, worth an estimated €125m. However provision of reserve wines mean that the damage is unlikely to result in any future short fall.

“Of course storm and hail are not unusual phenomena in Champagne, but what is rare is to….