France: Climate change, weather disasters bring challenges to Chablis wine country

On a brisk late September morning in the heart of Chablis wine country, grape pickers haul large and heavy buckets over their shoulders, drenched in sweat as they climb the very steep slope of the Vau de Vey vineyard.

It’s the final day of the harvest at the Domaine Roland Lavantureux winery, and workers are handpicking the last of the prized Chardonnay grapes that will eventually be transformed into the bright and high-end Premier Cru that is bottled by the estate.

But wine lovers around the world may struggle to get their hands on the 2024 “millesime” — wine that comes from a single year’s harvest. It will be available in smaller quantities than usual.

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Much of France’s wine country faced one of the wettest years on record in 2024 so far amid a changing climate, after years of challenges to vineyards and wine quality caused by drought and heat. At the Lavantureux estate, the picking lasted just nine days — about half the usual time — after a year of unpredictably harsh weather marked by frost, hail, record rainfall and the spread of a dangerous fungus that has left Chablis growers on edge.

“I have been working here since 2010. This is my most difficult year,” says winemaker David Lavantureux, who follows in the footsteps of his father Roland, a winemaker himself. “And all the old-timers will tell you the same thing. It’s been a very difficult year because the weather has been so unpredictable. We have not been spared a single thing.”

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The ordeal began in April with the frost. Then in May, a double hailstorm pummeled the region. Then came relentless rain, right up to the harvest. According to the Burgundy wine federation, some 1,000 hectares (nearly 2,500 acres) of vines in the Chablis country were affected by the May storm. And the excess moisture allowed a destructive mildew fungus to thrive.

Disease devastates the vineyard

Once entrenched, the disease causes huge crop losses and can also affect wine quality. Together with his brother Arnaud, David fought hard to try and control mildew with various treatments, which were washed away by the rain and didn’t prove effective.

“On our estate, we’re looking at losses of 60 to 65%,” David Lavantureux said. “It’s going to be a low-yield year.”

The weather impact wasn’t confined to the Lavantureux estate. Wet conditions across France have wreaked havoc on many wine-growing regions this year. Mildew, combined with episodes of frost and hail, have reduced overall production. The French ministry of agriculture estimates that it will amount to 39.3 million hectoliters, below both 2023 levels (-18%) and the average for the past five years (-11%).

“It’s been a very tough year, both physically and mentally,” Arnaud says. “We’re relieved the harvest is over. I’m exhausted.”

The challenges of this year will inevitably influence the wines produced at the family winery, resulting in a 2024 vintage with distinct characteristics.

“Balances are not at all the same,” adds Arnaud. “There’s more acidity. Maturity is less optimal. But the goal is to craft the wine so that, in the end, the balance is as perfect as possible.”

Adapting to a changing climate

Located in the northern part of the Bourgogne region, the vineyards of Chablis have traditionally benefited from a favorable climate — cold winters, hot summers and annual rainfall between 650-700 millimeters (25-27 inches).

But climate change is altering those conditions, bringing unseasonably mild weather, more abundant rainfall, and recurrent spring frosts that were less common in the past.

The frost damage is particularly frustrating. A similar phenomenon hit French vineyards in recent years, leading to big financial losses. And scientists believe the damaging 2021 frost was made more likely by climate change.

“There was a period when we thought that with global warming setting in, Chablis would be safe from frost,” David Lavantureux says. “And finally, over the last 15 years, it’s come back even stronger.”

To adapt, winemakers have been adopting creative solutions. Cutting the wines later helps delay bud burst and reduce the vulnerability to late frost, while keeping a larger foliage above the fruit shields the grapes from the scorching sun in hot summers.

During frost threats, many growers use expensive methods such as lighting candles in the vineyards. They also install electric lines to warm the vines, or spray water on the buds to create a thin ice layer that ensures the blossom’s temperature remains around freezing point but doesn’t dip much lower.

Throughout the Burgundy region, anti-hail devices have also been deployed in a bid to lessen the intensity of hailstorms.

“It helps reduce risk, but it’s never 100% protection,” David Lavantureux says. “We saw that again this year with several hailstorms, two of which were particularly severe.”

Looking ahead

Fortunately for the Lavantureux family, two very good years in 2022 and 2023 should help mitigate the financial losses induced by the reduced 2024 harvest as international demand for Chablis remains solid, especially in the United States.

In June, the Burgundy wine association said that Chablis wine exports to the U.S. reached 3 million bottles, generating 368 million euros ($410 million), a 19% increase compared to the previous year.

“We’ve put this harvest behind us,” says Arnaud Lavantureux “Now it’s time to think on the next one.”