France's 2003 wine harvest the weakest in a decade after heat wave

PARIS (AFP) Sep 23, 2003
France's wine harvest for 2003 will be the lowest in a decade at 47.1 million hectoliters, or about 6.3 billion bottles, due to the severe summer heat and lack of rainfall, the national wine office said Tuesday.

"For this vintage unlike any other, the quality of the wines will depend on the technical prowess of the winemakers and the complementary nature of the production process," Onivins said upon releasing its figures.

Earlier this month, France's agriculture ministry put the total harvest at 48 million hectoliters, or roughly 6.4 billion bottles.

The projected harvest is the lowest since 1991 when 42.7 million hectoliters of wine were produced -- far off levels seen in 1999 (62.9 million hectoliters), 2001 (55.3 million hectoliters) and 2002 (52 million hectoliters).

The total for 2003 includes about 21 million hectoliters in quality wines produced in name regions, 17.2 million hectoliters in table wine and 8.8 million hectoliters in wines used to make cognac and armagnac.

Despite the shortfall in volume, winemakers are predicting a fine vintage, as the weeks of dry, hot weather improved the quality and taste of the grapes by reducing the amount of water in the tiny pieces of fruit.

TERRA.WIRE