France’s vineyards have had a difficult year thanks to the effects of climate change – with late frosts, hailstorms, repeated heatwaves and a historic drought. The industry is trying to adapt to this onerous new reality through a variety of techniques, from bringing back forgotten grape varieties to moving their vineyards to new locations.
Winegrowers have had to start their harvests early in several French regions because of the summer’s searing heatwaves. In the southwestern Languedoc-Roussillon, they kicked off the harvest period at the end of July. In Haute-Corse, the northern part of Corsica, they began harvesting at the beginning of August. Both regions carried out their harvests one to three weeks earlier than usual.
