More than 10% of Bordeaux vineyards were destroyed by hail in June

More than 10% of Bordeaux’s vineyards, or 14,000 hectares, were affected by two hailstorms in the Gironde in June, the Bordeaux Wines Interspeciality announced Friday.

«For grapevines, 10,000 hectares in Monday night’s storms and 4,000 in the east of the department in early June storms are significant.“, explained Bernard Fargues, President of the Interprofessional Wine Council of Bordeaux (CIVB) in France Bleu Gironde. «It is a disaster for houses, crops“, the winemaker adds. And even ifhail is insurable»,«The insurance system in France is inadequate“, he regretted. On Monday, firefighters intervened 862 times in the north of the Gironde and the agglomeration of Bordeaux, where hail the size of golf balls fell. «Corn, vines, field vegetables. no production seems to have been sparedIn Northern Gironde, the Chamber of Agriculture emphasized.

Localized but very significant damage was observed in the Médoc and Blayais vineyards, while an episode in early June affected the Sainte-Foy-la-Grande sector. «The succession of claims makes winemakers less likely to be insured. It is not their fault that they have had multiple claims, but they can no longer insure themselves as they should, so they are poor and at great economic risk.– stressed Bernard Farges. In this difficult context for winegrowers, also in the background of the realization crisis, the big festive event “Bordeaux celebrates wineopened on Friday after a two-year absence on the banks of the Garonne. «This event will not lift the spirits of the affected and the very psychologically affected, but we must continue to promote the wine because the vineyard will be restarted and these companies will be restarted.– assured Bernard Farches.