BAD WEATHER BLUES

THE WEATHER has not been kind to France. Wine production is likely to be 1O% lower this year than in 2O15 because of bad frost in the spring and a late summer heatwave. A production of 42.9 million hectolitres (944 million gallons) is forecast for 2O16, down from last year’s 47.8 million hectoliters. The harvest is expected to be down by about a third in the Champagne region. Prices will rise, although one French wine trader said the Brexit effect would be a greater inflationary pressure for UK buyers. After the British vote to leave the EU, the pound slumped against the euro. Imports priced in euros are therefore more expensive. The heatwave in southern France – hitting the big wine regions of Bordeaux and Languedoc – was a particular problem. Additionally, Chablis suffered two bouts of hail, and frost has severely curtailed the size of the likely harvest in Burgundy, Loire and Champagne. And in August the Languedoc was hit again when a fierce hailstorm that sent golf-ball sized stones of ice plunging into vineyards in the Pic-St-Loup area, north of Montpellier. Initial estimates suggest the hail damaged up to 6O% of the crop on average in the area. Quality is still expected to be good, just smaller quantities.