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The president of the Coopération Agricole Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Denis Baro, said in an interview with the industry magazine Vitisphere that up to 20,000 hectares of vines could be uprooted in Bordeaux by the end of 2024. In addition to the 8,000 hectares that were uprooted last winter with state support of up to 6,000 euros per hectare, he estimates that at least that much more is likely to come, probably more. This would mean a reduction of ten to 15 per cent in the cooperatives' production. Although the small 2023 harvest volume of 900,000 hectolitres would have brought supply and demand back into balance, the market is not recovering at the desired speed. The strong mildew pressure of the past two early years is also bringing many small winegrowers to the brink of ruin. They have hardly any money left to treat the vines.
Baro explained that the global decline in consumption would not recover so quickly - and not all producers would be able to keep up. They would have to diversify further, for example into sparkling wines or wines with a lower or no alcohol content.
(al / Source: vitisphere)