The 2024 French wine harvest is expected to be one of the smallest in recent history, with production levels affected by unusual weather conditions.
A cool and wet beginning to summer, coupled with widespread humidity, created ideal conditions for mildew and other vine diseases, severely impacting grape yields. These challenges were not limited to France, as vineyards across Europe struggled with similar conditions. France’s agriculture ministry, through its statistical agency Agreste, has estimated a total yield of around 39.3m hectolitres of wine this year, an 18% decline on 2023. This puts the 2024 harvest among the six smallest of the past century.
Burgundy and the Loire Valley have been particularly hard-hit, with yields down by as much as 30% in some areas. Beaujolais vineyards fell foul of hail damage, while the Loire suffered problems with fruit setting and uneven berry development. Bordeaux expects a 10% drop in production while Champagne is looking at a 19% reduction thanks to spring frosts and bad weather during flowering.
But the Jura has suffered the worst of all. The smallest of the country’s major winegrowing regions, it has seen a drop of 71 per cent following catastrophic frosts in April.
The increasing frequency of these extreme weather events poses a significant challenge to the industry, underlining the need for adaptation as climate change disrupts traditional growing patterns. Since 2000, France’s annual yields have varied between 36m hectolitres and 51m hectolitres. Other challenging years this century include 2021 and 2017, both of which saw late frosts and poor weather conditions, which significantly curtailed production.
This year’s yield drop could impact France’s global standing as a wine producer, with Spain potentially overtaking France in total production volume – a shift that underscores the pressing need for sustainable and climate-resilient practices in French viticulture.
