2007 Wine Harvest Southern Côtes du Rhône
The 2007 grape crush in France will decline by about 6% with a total production of 49,2 million hectolitres according to projections made earlier this month by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing. Reasons are the low temperatures during the flowering season, abundant humidity and the subsidized reduction in acreage, especially in the Languedoc-Roussillon. AOC wine production should run at about 23 million hectolitres. The most significant decline is seen in the Bordeaux and Loire Valley regions.
Here in the Southern Côtes du Rhône Valley grape crush will decline but quality should again be excellent. After a mild winter and unseasonably wet May and June, there was little rainfall from the end of July onwards; more favorable weather conditions than in the Bordeaux and Loire Valley regions. Organic growers did suffer from the mild winter followed by a prolonged wet season, as it became nearly impossible to control pests. Most dreaded is vine mildew or plasmopara viticola, a fungus thriving in damp conditions, which produces brown blotches on the leaves before rotting the young grapes. A real problem for die-hard organic wine producers.
On the positive side are that many wine stocks in our region received enough moisture this year to recuperate somewhat from the very dry conditions since 2002. So the harvest is nearing its end in very favorable weather conditions: warm days, cool nights and very dry. While the quantity is down by 5 - 10% depending on the micro-terroir, first indications by our neighbors are that quality should be fine if not excellent. We will see in a couple of months.
