Wine production in France in 2024 is expected to decrease by 18% year-on-year due to weather conditions. “particularly unfavorable” in virtually all production areas, according to a new estimate published on Friday, September 6, by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The harvest is estimated at 39.3 million hectoliters, “in sharp decline”while the previous forecast, published in early August before the start of the harvest, expected production of between 40 and 43 million hectolitres. The previous month’s estimate was “adjusted downwards due to a better appreciation of flowering results in late vineyards, especially in Charentes”specifies the ministry’s statistics service, Agreste.
The most marked declines affect the Jura vineyards (-71% in one year), where severe frost and mildew significantly reduced production, after a very good 2023 harvest. But in terms of volume produced, the biggest decline affects the large Charentes vineyard: “Despite the increase in area, production is expected to decrease by 35% compared to the record year of 2023, due to the low number of bunches and poor flowering due to humidity conditions”explains the ministry.
Diseases and hailstorms
The other vineyards most affected are the Loire Valley (-30%) and Burgundy-Beaujolais (which is expected to lose a quarter of its production), losses caused mainly by mildew, in addition to hail for Beaujolais. Champagne production fell by 16% in one year, but remained 8% above the average of the last five years.
In Bordeaux, where acreage has been reduced as part of a plan to clear 8,000 hectares of vineyards this year, the reduction in production, also due to disease and hail, is estimated at 10%. These reductions in acreage are a response to a drop in wine sales volumes in recent years, as consumers are avoiding red wine in particular.
This year, many vineyards have been affected by phenomena such as “the coulure, which makes the flowers and tender berries fall”EITHER “Millerandage, which causes a variation in the size of the berries”These phenomena are the result of cool, humid periods during flowering. Mildew has affected most wine-growing areas.
Thanks to the August rainfall, the small Corsican vineyard saw its production increase by 9% compared to the five-year average, despite a 5% drop in one year. Nationally, the 2024 harvest is 11% lower than the 2019-2023 average, according to the ministry.
