Saint-Emilion 2020 Harvest May Suffer From Hail Damage

(Bloomberg) -- A hailstorm that hit the Saint-Emilion wine region in Bordeaux, France, may have damaged the vines enough to reduce the 2020 harvest, Sud Ouest newspaper reported.

The brief storm late Friday afternoon arrived at a time early in the growing season when the vines are fragile, Philippe Raymond, technical director of the Wine Council of Saint-Emilion, which represents 970 growers, told the newspaper. There was some damage, but it’s too soon to determine the extent, he said. Some growers reported Saturday that more than 50% of their vines were damaged, and the 2020 harvest will be hurt, the newspaper said.

The storm hit several villages around the town of Saint-Emilion, including Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse and Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens. The area, which is on Unesco’s World Heritage List, is known for red wines made with merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon grapes.

French wine production declined in 2019 after frost and hail hit the vineyards at this time of year, followed by a summer heatwave and drought. France exported 9.3 billion euros ($10.1 billion) of wine last year, with Bordeaux accounting for about 2.08 billion euros of that, according to exporters’ federation FEVS.

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