PRODUCTION: Even more severe declines in wine production are expected in Champagne, Burgundy or in the Charentes …
Hard hit by frost, hail and drought, the French production of wine looks down 10% this year. According to preliminary forecasts of the Ministry of Agriculture, even more severe declines are expected in Champagne, Burgundy or in the Charentes. The production would reach 42.9 million hectoliters against 47.8 million in 2015, and 7% lower than the five-year average, according to Agreste , the statistical service of the Ministry.
The Champagne vineyards late
“The spring frost that hit some viticultural areas (Champagne, Burgundy and the Loire Valley), recurrent episodes of wind, combined with the worsening drought in the Mediterranean and the damage associated with the hail in some areas ( Charente, Burgundy-Beaujolais, Languedoc-Roussillon) weigh on production potential, the level is lowered compared to the estimate of July, “Agreste said.
His estimate is provisional. It is likely to be revised depending on weather and health problems incidents that may occur during the harvest.
In Champagne, hit by several days of frost in the spring, the fall in production would be about a third. The vineyard is a week late compared to the ten year average.Burgundy and Beaujolais, the decline would reach 21%, with ten days late for the harvest.
The decrease even more important?
In the Charentes, where 3,600 hectares of vineyards were destroyed by hail and frost, production would drop by 16%. In Languedoc-Roussillon, the expected decline was 9%.
The decline in production could be even higher, because of the last episodes of hail and drought, said Jerome Despey, chairman of specialist wine council of the public institution FranceAgriMer at a press conference.
A small episode has affected 2,000 hectares in the Hérault on the 17th August.
