The trade organisation for New Zealand wine has said the extent of the damage to vineyards caused by Cyclone Gabrielle is still being assessed. The cyclone hit the North Island on February 12, moving down the east coast – home to both the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne wine regions. New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins called it the biggest natural disaster the country has faced…

As the 2022 grape harvest gets into full swing, producers have signalled earlier picking, following the summer heatwave. Here, Drinks Retailing rounds up the latest harvest news:  Harvests in the Provence wine region (AOC Côtes de Provence, AOC Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and AOC Coteaux Varois en Provence) began 10 to 15 days earlier than the 2021 harvests. Despite the heatwave, which brought about water…

The Comité Champagne has announced that the region’s harvest began on August 20, with the yield set at “the highest level in 15 years”.  The harvest start dates across each village and grape varietal will vary between August 20 and September 6, with all grapes being picked by hand. Continuing from previous years, the region’s Réseau Matu organisation recommended the optimal dates for the…

The trade organisation for the New Zealand wine industry has reported a 43.8% increase in grapes for the 2022 harvest, as producers look to rebuild stocks and sales. New Zealand Winegrowers said the 2022 harvest produced 532,000 tonnes of grapes, with “virtually every region and all principal varieties contributing to the production turnaround from the small crop in 2021”. The 2021 harvest yielded 370,000 tonnes…

Trade organisations for the wine industry in South Africa have said the 2022 grape crop is down on the previous year. According to the annual South African Wine Harvest Report, the 2022 vintage will “wow consumers with exceptional quality wines, albeit from a somewhat smaller grape crop than in 2021”.   The 2022 wine grape crop is estimated at 1,378,737 tonnes, according to industry body…

Bad weather has hit this year’s Champagne harvest, with yields set to drop around 45%, the trade organisation for the region has said. The Comité Champagne pointed to challenging weather conditions throughout 2021, with a 12-day period of frost at the beginning of the year, hail on several occasions, then persistent rain in spring which encouraged mildew in the vines. “These various hazards have caused big differences…

This year saw the earliest Champagne harvest in the drink’s history. Picking started from August 17, which is earlier than ever before, according to the Comite Champagne. The quality is also said to be good, following the “exceptional pattern” set in 2018 and 2019. The Comite Champagne said a “top-quality harvest” is the first requirement for the production of a Grand Vin, and the weather…