2017 will go down as the most seriously weather affected harvest in Europe for over 20 years with many regions struggling to achieve average yield quantities. Late frosts early in the growing season affected flowering, followed by seeringly and unrelenting hot dry weather. The closing out of the harvest reduced crops by up to 40%.
Although vines don’t look like they flower, they create a small green white flourish in Spring which melts away to form grapes. Less flowering equals less grapes on carefully tended vines. Equally whilst the vine requires heat in order for grapes to become ripe, too much during the mid-late season and no rain prevents the grapes from fleshing out and gaining much needed juice.
Bearing in mind that France, Spain and Italy are the biggest exporters of wine in the world this can but not have an effect on pricing and volumes available around the world.
The worst affected regions in France were in the west – Bordeaux taking a hammering with an estimated 41% down on production averages and a whopping 51% down on 2016. The Languedoc Roussillon region produces approximately double Bordeaux is also down a more limited 8% on 2016.
Only one region performed well with production and unusually that was Bourgogne-Beaujolais 12% up on 2016.
Italy, also suffered bad heat problems with the Italy’s producer union Ismea and UIV forecasting a reduction of 26% in volumes. The worst affected regions are Abruzzo, Puglia, Basilicata, Toscano, Valle d’Aosta, Lazio, Toscana, Umbria, Sardinia and Sicily. With other production controls on Pinot Grigio coming into force then the pressure on pricing across the board is firmly upwards.
In Spain, similar tales of major harvest reductions are reported of 25% in the major production region of La Mancha. Where the vineyards have not been irrigated then the affects of the harvest are as much as 40-50%, which is almost unheard of.
With the wines just arriving in tanks now and fermenting out, we will see how the situation pans out, however it will be a tough one for buyers as the pressure on quality and pricing comes to bear.
From a hospitality point of view then this is all background information, yet to come out in the market, but be certain that it will during the course of early 2018.
How important is wine to your business?
What are the implications for your wine list? Is there any pre-emptive action worthwhile taking? Can it be discussed with suppliers to gauge what level of information they have?
Identify and engage a wine market expert to discuss potential outcomes.
Alistair Morrell
Hospitality & Catering News, Wine & Drinks Editor