Historically low" production for 2017
Traditionally, the first wine production estimates from Agreste, a website of the French Ministry of Agriculture, are published in July, and this year's findings are very interesting.
At between 37 and 38 million hectolitres, the harvest could be down almost 17% on the 2016 vintage and almost 16% on the 2011-2015 period.
The spring frost, which affected Bordeaux, Alsace, Cognac and Jura, resulted in very significant yield losses, higher in some places than the terrible 1991 vintage.
However, a very warm late spring, rainy spells and favorable weather brought the phenological cycle forward by 10 to 20 days. And even if water reserves are deficient in some basins, such as Alsace, South-East France and Corsica, this vintage is shaping up well in terms of quality.
InChampagne, damage caused by spring frost is less severe than last year, and disease pressure is low. As a result, the vineyard is 10 days ahead of schedule and production is forecast to rise by 8%.
InBurgundy and Beaujolais, although frost affected the Cluny and Chablis vineyards, flowering went well. A forecast increase of around 14% is on the cards. In Beaujolais, forecasts do not take into account the hailstorms of recent days.
InAlsace, frost has severely affected production. An anticipated drop of 30% compared with 2016 is cited, with the aggravating factor of coulure on early-ripening grape varieties such as Gewurztraminer, as well as a few cases of coulure on Riesling.
In Bordeaux, production will be severely affected by the April frost. Even though vegetation is 2 to 3 weeks ahead of schedule, yields are expected to drop by around 18%.
In the Loire Valley, the frost affected the vineyards in a very scattered manner, and conditions can vary from one village to the next, sometimes from one row of vines to the next. Production is expected to rise by 7%.
In the Rhône Valley, although frosts are to be deplored in the Ardèche and the north of the region, the main factor reducing yields will be "coulure" on the Grenache grape variety. A drop of 6% compared to 2016 is cited.
In the South-East, frost and hail damaged some plots, but in a heterogeneous manner. However, the water deficit is marked and could lead to a drop in production of around 10%.
Finally, in Corsica, the increase in surface area will enable production to be maintained despite some frost episodes. Vegetation is a week ahead of schedule.
