Mother Nature hasn’t been kind to French winemakers this year. In many areas 2013 was already shaping up to be less than bountiful, but in early August huge hailstorms swept through areas of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Alsace devastating thousands of acres of grapes. In Bordeaux alone, more than 50,000 acres were affected with 17,000 acres of vines completely stripped of grapes. French news agency AFP reported that the hailstones, some of which were as large as cricket balls, killed birds.
“It was a brutal and intense storm,” said Bernard Farges, head of the Bordeaux Wine Professionals Committee. “The vines stood no chance.”
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The real tragedy is that many of the affected growers were small producers who were uninsured. Not surprising, the growers are calling on the government to help bail them out of this financially crippling disaster.
Click on the link to see a video showing the intensity of the hailstorm at a property in Aquitaine.
