France set to regain title as world’s number one producer country in 2023

n 2023, France is all set to produce 44.5 million hectolitres of wine, a drop of 3% on 2022, according to the initial vintage forecast by the statistics department of the Ministry of Agriculture (SSP). If the estimates are confirmed, France would regain its title of leading global wine producer, which it lost to Italy in 2015. The SSP bulletin stresses that “these estimates are provisional due to uncertainties surrounding the consequences of mildew outbreaks in the vineyards of Bordeaux and South-West France”, and “in Languedoc and Roussillon persistent drought is occurring”.

The picture across France this summer has been chequered. On the one hand are the wine regions that have managed to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and on the other, those which have borne the brunt of a changing climate. Localised hailstorms punctuated spring and continued into the summer – in Anjou, Crozes-Hermitage, Mâcon and Savoy for instance – but the primary factor that tipped the balance away from a promising vintage in volume terms continues to be mildew pressure. The disease was extremely virulent in numerous wine regions – including Corsica, Provence, the Loire Valley and the Rhone Valley – but it mainly sapped crops and morale across the whole south-western side of the country (Bergerac, Bordeaux, Gascony…). Here, the debate about whether the cost of excess water issues will be borne by climate insurances is still very heated, with growers refusing to drop their claims despite opposition from the insurance companies. Parts of Aude and Hérault have also been affected by mildew but in the South of France the main topic of discussion is the impact of drought on crop volumes and vines – some vineyards have stopped growing along the Mediterranean coastline, in Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales. For wine regions that have not been affected by these issues, the harvest is promising. This is true in Alsace – provided powdery mildew outbreaks are kept at bay – Burgundy, Champagne, Cognac, Corsica, Jura, Provence, Savoy (despite mildew and hail), the Loire Valley and Vaucluse. That is, unless any unforeseen weather events were to rock the boat between now and harvesting…