France wine production will fall 12% in 2019 per adverse climate

The production of wines from France will fall 12% this year, since the vines were damaged by frost of spring, drought and hail, but the overall quality remains good, said the country's Ministry of Agriculture this Tuesday (27). In its second estimate for 2019, the ministry predicted a production of 43.4 million hectolitres, less than the 49.4 million of 2018, when production benefited from good climatic conditions. A hectoliter, or 100 liters, is the equivalent of about 133 standardized wine bottles. Last month, the French government had estimated the production of 2018 between 42.8 million and 46.4 million hectolitres. In many vineyards, flowering occurred with a rainy and cold climate, but heat and hail also contributed to a decline in potential production, the paste said in a note. But the situation will vary by region. Record heat waves that occurred in June and July affected some parts of the south, such as Gard, Hérault or Var, burning the grapes and generating losses in production, the government said. In contrast, in some vineyards the early rains of August helped to limit the impact of heat, while hail storms caused damage in the area of Beaujolais, which together with that of Burgundy must suffer a production drop of 26% in comparison with 2018. The production of Champagne this year must retreat 17% due mainly to the warm climate, and the production of Bordeaux should decrease 4%.