Fierce frosts ravage French wine production

Frost damage to French vineyards this month could reduce wine production by nearly a third compared with recent years, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Thursday, citing initial estimates from wine producers.

The losses, subject to revision as the frost impact becomes clearer in the coming weeks, were projected at around 15 million hectoliters and would put France on course for 2021 wine output between 28 percent and 32 percent below average volumes of recent years, Ygor Gibelind of FranceAgriMer’s wine unit said.

A hectoliter is about 100 liters, or 133 standard wine bottles.

“This (frost) was something exceptional, both in the fact it spread so far south and that it was so widespread,” Gibelind said, adding damage was exacerbated by a preceding warm spell that had accelerated plant growth.

The worst-hit wine regions included Burgundy, with average losses estimated at 50 percent, Languedoc at 40 percent and Aquitaine that encompasses Bordeaux at 30 percent.

Vineyards were among farmland ravaged by the severe frosts two weeks ago, with fruit orchards and sugar beet fields also hit hard.

The government has pledged around 1 billion euros (US$1.2 billion) in aid for agriculture.