“C’est la catastrophe !». APRIL FROST IN FRANCE
After an unusually mild winter, which included some glorious spring weather in February and March, the weather was cool and wet for much of April. The warm weather led to early bud break and growers had their fingers crossed that the temperatures would not drop below freezing.
The critical period of the season occurs during the “lune rousse” which begins the first day of the new moon after Easter. This year the “lune rousse” started on April 7 and finished May 6. It is generally considered that once past this period, there is little danger of frost.
The name comes not from the color of the moon, but from the fact that young buds which are frost damaged often have a reddish tint to them.
The night of April 26-27 the worst fears of the vignerons were realized in much of the Loire, in Chablis, the Côte d’Or, to a lesser extent the Côte Chalonnnaise, and in the Aube.
In some years, a second bud develops which, while less fruitful than the first, may still produce grapes. But this year, after the mild winter, in many places the second bud was already developed when the frost struck.
In some places both the main bud and the "back-up bud" ( contre-bourgeon) had already burst. In instances where both suffer frost damage, it will be difficult to get any harvest at all.
Burgundy: Few vineyards were spared and what was most unusual was that nearly every part of the vineyard – the plain and the hillsides; vineyards treated chemically and those where the soil is worked – was impacted. According to the first estimations, of the 29,250 hectares of vineyards in Burgundy, approximately 6,700 hectares suffered losses from 30-70% and 6,800 hectares had losses ranging from 70-100%.
In the Cote d’Or, out of 9,000 hectares, 7,000 suffered frost damage.
Jean-Michel Aubinel, the president of the Confederation of appellations and vignerons of Burgundy, (CAVB), noted « This year there was frost damage in zones where there had never been frost before."
In Chablis, the temperatures were below 0°C for three nights, but on April 26 dropped to -3.5°. Chablis is used to frost and many of the grand cru and premier cru parcels are protected from frost with firepots or spraying water to encase the buds in a protective igloo. But, this year, even in “protected” vineyards, there was frost damage.
In the Côte d’Or, the damage was more important in the Côte de Beaune, as Chardonnay buds earlier than Pinot. Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Chassagne, Monthélie, and Auxey-Duresses, seemed to have been hit the hardest. In Meursault approximately 80% of the vineyards suffered some frost damage with losses from 10 to 90% of the future harvest depending on the parcel.
In the Chalonnnaise, Bouzeron and Rully suffered the most damage. The Maconnais was largely spared by the frost, but had suffered some hail damage a few weeks earlier.
Loire: “C’est la catastrophe !». The frost was as severe and as damaging as in 1994 or 1991.
The president of the AOC Chinon, Jean-Martin Dutour, reported that a good part of the appellation, where temperatures dropped to -7°, suffered losses of up to 50%
Pierre Alliet thinks that of his 7 hectares most affected, the loss is between 60 and 90%.
In Bourgeuil and Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil, were the temperature dropped to -6°, 60-80% of the buds were lost.
In Saumur, Antoine Foucault estimates he lost at least 40% of the harvest.
In Touraine Azay-le-Rideau et Touraine Noble Joué, losses are estimated at 85%.
In Cheverny, Philippe Tessier estimates his losses at 70-80%.
While Vouvray was largely spared, on the other side of the river in Montlouis, things are grim. One estimate puts the loss for the entire appellation at 70%, but in the commune of St Martin Le Beau the figure is closer to 95%. Franck Breton thinks he has lost 80-90% of the 2016 crop.
Pouilly Fumé and Menetou Salon were also hit hard. Anne Pellé said the entire appellation suffered heavy losses and predicts that they will be lucky to harvest 10hl/ha this year (vs 50hl/ha or more in a normal year).
Sancerre escaped with losses of only 20-30%
In the west, there were losses in Anjou and Muscadet, in some places as much as 50%.
Champagne: Approximately 7,500 hectares suffered losses. There was some damage in the north, but compared with other regions, the growers were happy to get off relatively lightly. When I asked Pascal Agrapart if his vineyards had been affected, he replied “No…well, just one hectare”.
In the Aube, it is a different story. Between 75-80% of the vineyards suffered some damage. Of note, as in Burgundy, is the fact that areas which usually never suffer frost were damaged this year. Parcels which had not suffered frost damage in over 40 years were struck.
Jérôme Coessens estimates he lost between 25 and 50% of the crop. Cédric Bouchard thinks he lost under 30% in the Aube, but in the Chatillonais where he is developing his new project, he lost between 80-90% of the crop and will not bother harvesting at all in 2016.
After an unusually mild winter, which included some glorious spring weather in February and March, the weather was cool and wet for much of April. The warm weather led to early bud break and growers had their fingers crossed that the temperatures would not drop below freezing.
The critical period of the season occurs during the “lune rousse” which begins the first day of the new moon after Easter. This year the “lune rousse” started on April 7 and finished May 6. It is generally considered that once past this period, there is little danger of frost.
The name comes not from the color of the moon, but from the fact that young buds which are frost damaged often have a reddish tint to them.
The night of April 26-27 the worst fears of the vignerons were realized in much of the Loire, in Chablis, the Côte d’Or, to a lesser extent the Côte Chalonnnaise, and in the Aube.
In some years, a second bud develops which, while less fruitful than the first, may still produce grapes. But this year, after the mild winter, in many places the second bud was already developed when the frost struck.
In some places both the main bud and the "back-up bud" ( contre-bourgeon) had already burst. In instances where both suffer frost damage, it will be difficult to get any harvest at all.
Burgundy: Few vineyards were spared and what was most unusual was that nearly every part of the vineyard – the plain and the hillsides; vineyards treated chemically and those where the soil is worked – was impacted. According to the first estimations, of the 29,250 hectares of vineyards in Burgundy, approximately 6,700 hectares suffered losses from 30-70% and 6,800 hectares had losses ranging from 70-100%.
In the Cote d’Or, out of 9,000 hectares, 7,000 suffered frost damage.
Jean-Michel Aubinel, the president of the Confederation of appellations and vignerons of Burgundy, (CAVB), noted « This year there was frost damage in zones where there had never been frost before."
In Chablis, the temperatures were below 0°C for three nights, but on April 26 dropped to -3.5°. Chablis is used to frost and many of the grand cru and premier cru parcels are protected from frost with firepots or spraying water to encase the buds in a protective igloo. But, this year, even in “protected” vineyards, there was frost damage.
In the Côte d’Or, the damage was more important in the Côte de Beaune, as Chardonnay buds earlier than Pinot. Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Chassagne, Monthélie, and Auxey-Duresses, seemed to have been hit the hardest. In Meursault approximately 80% of the vineyards suffered some frost damage with losses from 10 to 90% of the future harvest depending on the parcel.
In the Chalonnnaise, Bouzeron and Rully suffered the most damage. The Maconnais was largely spared by the frost, but had suffered some hail damage a few weeks earlier.
Loire: “C’est la catastrophe !». The frost was as severe and as damaging as in 1994 or 1991.
The president of the AOC Chinon, Jean-Martin Dutour, reported that a good part of the appellation, where temperatures dropped to -7°, suffered losses of up to 50%
Pierre Alliet thinks that of his 7 hectares most affected, the loss is between 60 and 90%.
In Bourgeuil and Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil, were the temperature dropped to -6°, 60-80% of the buds were lost.
In Saumur, Antoine Foucault estimates he lost at least 40% of the harvest.
In Touraine Azay-le-Rideau et Touraine Noble Joué, losses are estimated at 85%.
In Cheverny, Philippe Tessier estimates his losses at 70-80%.
While Vouvray was largely spared, on the other side of the river in Montlouis, things are grim. One estimate puts the loss for the entire appellation at 70%, but in the commune of St Martin Le Beau the figure is closer to 95%. Franck Breton thinks he has lost 80-90% of the 2016 crop.
Pouilly Fumé and Menetou Salon were also hit hard. Anne Pellé said the entire appellation suffered heavy losses and predicts that they will be lucky to harvest 10hl/ha this year (vs 50hl/ha or more in a normal year).
Sancerre escaped with losses of only 20-30%
In the west, there were losses in Anjou and Muscadet, in some places as much as 50%.
Champagne: Approximately 7,500 hectares suffered losses. There was some damage in the north, but compared with other regions, the growers were happy to get off relatively lightly. When I asked Pascal Agrapart if his vineyards had been affected, he replied “No…well, just one hectare”.
In the Aube, it is a different story. Between 75-80% of the vineyards suffered some damage. Of note, as in Burgundy, is the fact that areas which usually never suffer frost were damaged this year. Parcels which had not suffered frost damage in over 40 years were struck.
Jérôme Coessens estimates he lost between 25 and 50% of the crop. Cédric Bouchard thinks he lost under 30% in the Aube, but in the Chatillonais where he is developing his new project, he lost between 80-90% of the crop and will not bother harvesting at all in 2016.
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