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The frosty nights of the past few days have damaged the vines in Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Italy, some of them severely. While harvest losses of over 90 percent are forecast in some regions, most winegrowers are still holding back with estimates of yield losses. Moreover, the danger of ground frost has not yet been averted.
According to Ernst Büscher of the German Wine Institute, who is a member of the dpa news agency, vineyards in all German growing regions are affected, "from no damage to a 100 percent loss of yield, everything is covered". Due to the warm February and March, the vines have budded very early throughout Europe, which has now led to frost damage, some of which is severe. Whether and how well affected vines can regenerate depends on many factors and cannot be seriously predicted at present.
In France, severe damage is reported from the Champagne region, some regions of the Loire and Burgundy, as well as from some regions of the Bordelais. These include parts of St. Emilion, Lalande de Pomerol, Bergerac and the vineyards around Blaye.
After the 2016 frost year, Austria will also be affected by the late cold again: In the early morning hours of 21 April 2017, temperatures down to -6 degrees Celsius caused severe damage in vineyards in Styria, southern Burgenland and partly in Lower Austria.
Winegrowers in northern Italy were particularly badly affected: as early as mid-April, a storm front with heavy rain and heavy hail caused severe damage in parts of Piedmont and Barbaresco, for example in the regions around Neive and Langhe. The onset of frost a few days ago caused severe damage for the second time in the Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani regions. According to a quick survey by the local winegrowing consortium, an average of 20 percent of the vines are said to have been affected. Individual winegrowers even reported damage of between 50 and 95 percent to "Wine Spectator".
(uka / Photo: German Wine Institute)