Hail hits French/Swiss vineyards

A storm, which hit France over the weekend with hailstones the size of tennis balls, is estimated to have caused tens of millions of euros worth of damage, particularly affecting vineyards in Crozes-Hermitage, St Joseph, Savoie and Switzerland.

A violent storm, which has been described as “unprecedented”, hit parts of France on 15 June, and despite only lasting between 15 and 20 minutes, has caused severe damage for vine and fruit growers in certain regions. Heavy rain, hail and wind speeds as high as 100km per hour were recorded.
Hailstones up to around 7cm in diameter fell across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the department of Lozère and even as far north as the Loire Valley.
It is believed that vineyards in Crozes-Hermitage in the northern Rhône Valley have been particularly effected, with some early estimates stating that losses could be as much as half. Vineyards around La Roche-de-Glun and Beaumont-Monteux are reported to be worst hit.
Also caught in the storm was St Joseph, particularly the vineyards around Mauves, and also vines in Switzerland around Geneva. However, Cornas, St-Péray and Hermitage are reported to be largely unscathed, according to French media.

Yes, I’d heard about this yesterday. Since hail tends to be very localized, I’d wondered whether the damage was inconsistent. Sounds like it was somewhat spotty.

7cm hail stones could cause severe vine damage, not just the loss of this year’s crop. Uggh.

St. Joseph is such a big appellation that it’s unlikely it was all affected. The area around Mauves is regarded as one of the best subzones, though. Chave’s St. Joseph domaine vineyards are there.

I feel, of course, horribly for the farmers and wineries impacted by this seemingly increasingly frequent sort of freak storm. I also have come to dread these threads about them as it has tended to bring out, let’s say, not the most admirable sides of some folk.

If you look back on some of these threads there has been some remarkable “so what, they’re fat cat winery and vineyard owners.”

Oh. Thought it was a dismiss of climate change.

Sad news. We visited the Northern Rhone in March and the people we met were very gracious.

Have hail storms always been an issue in France? Seems like almost every year now for the last several anyways.

“Always” is a long time. Maybe you mean something like the Black Monday report of approximately 1000 English troops dying as a result of an incredibly severe French Hailstorm (siege of Chartres, April 1360 during the Hundreds Years war).

There appear to be increasing trends in parts of France. There’s a fair bit of agreement that storm frequencies are less predictable but global warming is making them more intense and damaging (i.e.: larger hail stones).

RT