“The drop in production will be mainly on account of the hard spring frost,” the French Agriculture Ministry said.
Wine volume in France will fall 19% to this year, to about 4.9 billion bottles (36.9 million hectolitres ), the ministry forecasts.
That’s the lowest production in 60 years, since 1957, when a spring freeze also destroyed flower buds.
The situation is far worse in some parts of France. In the Bordeaux region, which was hardest hit by frost in late April, production is falling 39% to 3.55 million hectolitres.
For Italy, the numbers are confusing.
According to bangkokpost.com, Italy’s vineyards suffered less damage from frost and drought, and yet, the same article says that the country’s wine volume is forecast to fall 24% to 47.2 million hectolitres.
That looks to me like more damage, not less.
Either way, it would be hard to say that global warming is the culprit.