By Olga Bluma : –
According to the latest figures published by the Ministry of Agriculture of France grape harvest this year will be the poorest since 1945. Such decline is caused by bad weather conditions: warm spring followed by severe frost in April, hail in the South of the country as well as abnormal dryness in the summer had it’s impact on grapes growth. Some experts believe in the magic of numbers, claiming that apart from 1947 all years ending with ‘7’ have been unlucky for wine producers.
Overall 2017 wine will be rare in the majority of wine producing regions across France, except Champagne. Amongst the most affected regions are Jura, with grape harvest 57% less than in 2016 and Bordeaux, with a 51% decline.
This could be a noticeable blow for French wine industry, which remains crucial for the country’s economy. France is the second producer of wine in the world after Italy. According to FEVS (Federation of wine and spirit exporters) in 2016 wine exports reached 10.5 billion Euro placing wine on the second place of France’s exports, between aeronautic and cosmetics industries.
Grapes that did survive thorough climatic challenges will make wine of exceptional quality assure French wine producers. The wine is promising to have rich and concentrated flavour, experts claim.