Premature grape harvest in France because of heat
Good yields expected
France's winegrowers can expect good yields from the grape harvest, which is starting early due to the heat. With an expected 42.6 to 45.6 million hectoliters, these are likely to be in line with the average of the past five years, according to the Ministry of Agriculture in Paris. In all growing regions, ripening is further advanced than usual, so that the harvest is starting early, it said.
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Last year, a period of frost in the spring led to historically poor yields, and pest infestations also caused losses. This year, the climate is slowing the spread of pests, losses due to frost threatened only in the southwest of France in the Charente, the ministry said. In Alsace, lack of rain could lead to a lower weight of the grapes.
According to experts, the grape harvest may still be affected if drought and high heat continue. However, the current heat wave in France is expected to subside after the weekend, and rain is also expected in many places.
In Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France, the grape harvest began in part as early as the end of July, according to the ministry. Nationwide, the harvest started ten days to three weeks earlier than usual, reported the newspaper "Le Parisien". "In more than 30 years, I have never started the grape harvest on August 9," southern French winegrower and industry representative Jérôme Despey told the newspaper. A professional colleague added that everyone had been surprised at how quickly the grapes had ripened in recent days./evs/DP/zb (dpa)
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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