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A high-pressure system over France with heavy night frost damaged the vineyards of many French growing regions last week. Temperatures dropped to -3 °C in Vouvray (Loire), for example. There, the vines are well advanced in the growth cycle due to the almost summer-like temperatures. In Burgundy, the regions from Mâconnais to Chablis were particularly hard hit, as budbreak had already begun there in the days before, especially for Chardonnay. Here, temperatures dropped to -7 °C. In the days before, the winegrowers had measured up to 25 °C in the vineyards. In Champagne, temperatures even dropped to -8 °C, and meteorologists expect more frosty nights in the coming days. The Jura was covered by a closed blanket of snow, and it also got sensitively cold here.
On Thursday, 8 April, winegrowers in Burgundy, the Beaujolais, the Rhone Valley and southern France experienced the worst night since the cold snap began. Farms in the eastern part of Provence are also expecting major damage, as well as in Languedoc. There, losses could be as high as one hundred percent in some regions. In Bordeaux, Cédric Coubris, president of the independent vintners' association, said the region had suffered losses of between 50 and 70 percent after three frosty nights.
(uka / Sources: Decanter, Vitisphere, WineSpectator, weather.com - Photo: Wikipedia)