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Nature and EnvironmentFrance

Global wine production 'historically low' in 2021

November 5, 2021

Bad winemaking weather in Europe is being blamed for taking down the global production to its third below-average year in a row. Frostbitten France saw one of its worst years in decades.

https://p.dw.com/p/42bh1
A bottle and glass of wine are displayed in the cellar of prize-winning French winegrower Paul-Vincent Avril on December 12, 2007 in Chateaneuf-Du-Pape, France.
France's vineyards suffered a particularly torrid year because of spring frosts, subsequent downpours and mildewImage: Getty Images/P. Parrot

Global wine production volume in 2021 is projected to be "historically" low due to unfavorable weather in Europe's wine-growing regions, an intergovernmental wine organization said on Thursday.

The Paris-based International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) said global wine production volume in 2021 is projected to come in at 250 million hectoliters (mhl), a drop of 4% from 2020, and 7% below the 20-year average.

The OIV's projections show 2021 as the third consecutive year of below-average global output, and approaching the 2017 level of 248 mhl, which was the lowest global wine volume in six decades, the OIV said.

One hectoliter is the equivalent of 100 liters, or 133 standard bottles of wine.

2021 to be a rare European vintage

France, Italy and Spain are the world's three top wine producers, combining for 45% of global volume.

OIV Director Pau Roca said "unfavorable climactic conditions" like spring frost, hail storms and downpours set the countries' combined output back 22 mhl compared to 2020.

A vineyard at sunrise
A winegrower burns anti-frost candles in a vineyard near Nantes, France during an April cold snapImage: Sebastien Salom-Gomis/AFP/Getty Images

Compared with 2021 volume, Italy estimated a drop of 9%, and Spain's volume sunk 14%.

France's vintage was hit the hardest, dropping 27% compared to 2020, the OIV said, citing freezing weather in spring, followed by heavy rain, hail and mildew disease, which stunted growth in vineyards across the country.

With a volume estimate of 34.2 mhl, 2021 joins 2017 and 1957 as being one of French wine's worst recorded years. 

Germany, the fourth largest European wine producer, was an exception, increasing its production volume by 4% compared to 2020, despite a cold snap in Spring and flooding in certain wine regions.

In the EU overall, production volume in 2021 was down 13% year-on-year.

Candles above a vineyard
Heaters are lit early in the morning to protect Chablis from frostImage: Pascal Rossignol/REUTERS

Roca said wine growers would need to adapt to the effects of climate change.

"There are long-term solutions which will require major efforts in terms of sustainable practices for cultivating vines and producing wine," he said.

A positive note

Despite the dry barrels in Europe, winegrowing regions in South America, South Africa and Australia had a "very positive" year, producing a record-high 59 mhl, a 19% increase compared to 2020.

Although the OIV said the high volume "tended to balance" the tanking numbers in the EU, it was not enough to bring up the global production average.

The OIV added the impacts of three consecutive years of low average production are still unclear, as the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted wine consumption, particularly in the gastronomy sector.

Roca said he "still expects global consumption to increase compared to 2020," as tourism and hospitality rebound.

Europe to the Maxx: The world’s oldest wine region

wmr/msh (AFP, Reuters)