Severe late-spring frosts in France’s Champagne region have left winemakers worried that they have lost a significant amount of their wine harvest.
Temperatures dropped below zero in recent weeks with frosts damaging vines, predominantly in the Côte des Bar region in the Aube department, according to Decanter.com. Last year the region suffered similar losses.
Vineyard director at Champagne Roederer, Johann Merle, told Decanter.com that the house estimates it lost 23% of the potential 2017 vintage in the Côte des Blancs, 35-40% in the Montagne de Reims and 15 to 20% in the Vallee de la Marne.
Olivier Horiot, a winemaker in Les Riceys, told the site that he believed frost issues will continue in years to come because of global warming. “It is not the frosts which are later than they traditionally have been, it’s the mild weather in March which has caused the vines to develop earlier than in the past,” he said.
