An unusual frost for this time of year was observed across France earlier this month, causing severe damage to vineyards. This will be a further blow to the wine industry, which is already suffering from the Corona disaster.
According to the European Wine Industry Association, frost damage to vineyards is expected to affect 80% of France's wine-growing regions and reduce production by 25-50% in some areas.
Ah, it's already frozen........
In the upper part of the image, you can see sprinklers and other devices are being used to reduce the effects of frost, but all the producers in France are drooping their shoulders.
The above is an image of the vineyard of Gyejacquot, a producer of Champagne Decloｓ Fｒères that we deal with.
Well, to tell you the truth, frost is a usual thing.
So why all the fuss this year...
This year in France, we had record warm weather from late March to early April.
The temperature in the Champagne region rose to a whopping 26 degrees Celsius! That's what I heard. We were saying, “It's global warming”.
Then the vines come out of their winter dormancy, the warmth speeds up their growth, and they budding!
The baby grapes are born.
But...!
The temperature dropped to around 6 degrees below zero in less than a week around the Easter holiday of April 4th.
Oh no, the baby grapes...!
Winegrowers tried to prevent the temperature from dropping by lighting candles in the vineyards and using sprinklers, but in many cases, they could not protect the newly budding baby grapes...
The phenomenon of accelerated plant growth due to climate change is occurring everywhere, not just in France, and crops seem to be more susceptible to damage from the cold air.
A few days after the frost, some wineries wanted to raise the price of a new wine they were considering, and Sauternes, which they were planning to sell at the end of the year, was told that they could not sell it this year because it was not likely to be harvested.
The world has recently started to move towards a decarbonized society, and I hope that the effects of global warming will subside and prevent further damage.
(Oh, I'm afraid of the price hike...)
See you soon...