In 2023, no European wine-growing nation harvested and produced as much wine as France which recorded a total of 48m hl, significantly more than the five-year average of 44.2m hl, and much more than Italy or Spain, both of which suffered from smaller harvests. By early August 2024, however, a significantly lower estimate of 40 to 43m hlhad been released, and this has now been revised downward once again. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty now estimates a harvest of just 39.3m hl, 18% below last year's figure and 11% below the five-year average.
This would likely put France behind both Italy and Spain in the European rankings, with Spain expected to see a much better harvest than in 2023, possibly exceeding 40m hl. Considering the increasing protests by producers over low bulk wine prices, particularly in Bordeaux and the rest of the southwest, these figures aren't necessarily bad news for France's wine producers.
However, the sharpest declines in harvest are not in Bordeaux but in the wine-growing regions of Jura, Charentes, Val de Loire, and Beaujolais-Burgundy, according to the ministry. The cause is attributed to unfavorable weather conditions. VM
