The vineyards are moving north
I am often bemused by the climate naysayers who claim that there is nothing to worry about when it comes to viticulture in the world, that what ever change that is happening is occurring as a part of a natural pattern or cycle.
I wish I could have your confidence but its a bit hard to argue with immutable facts like Burgundy is under pressure to be able to maintain the growth of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay over the next 10 years, that England once considered to wet and cold is not becoming the new darling of the wine world especially when it comes to its sparkling production this could not achieved 15 years ago.
Not only in Burgundy but in many parts of France more and more regions are finding it difficult to grow and sustain traditional varietals , the vineyards of France are indeed marching ever increasingly north.
Lets examine some vineyard areas between 1974 and 2020 in France in the table below and just how much change has been taking place, it is clear from the available areas under vines that Frances vineyards are growing in more northern areas and traditional southern vineyard areas are in serious decline.
A quick snapshot of the biggest losers in vineyards under hectares between 1974-2020
The big winners in vineyard expansion and total vineyard hectares include:
Overall between the years 1974 - 2020 the average rate of decline on areas under vineyard hectares has declined across France at an alarming average of 37.0%, the southern vineyard regions including Bordeaux still make up the lions share of avaliable area under vine in France comprising of over 50% of all vineyard hectares.
One could argue that there are to many hectares under vine in the south of France and as we have seen in Bordeaux in recent months an estimated 55,000 hectares is in the process of or is being grubbed out due to over production.
Land allocated for vineyard since the Citreaux Monks has long considered to have been of higher agricultural value and return and that is why they are mainly planted off the flat and towards the hills and forests.
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In 2021 the average price per vineyard hectare was around 65,000 Euro, the premier regions like Bourgogne and Champagne command high values per hectare, in the Bourgogne its around 7.0 Million Euro per hectare and in Champagne around 1.2 million Euro per hectare- there is money in land especially when it comes to producing premium and super premium wines
There are many factors at play here , certainly the longer term sustainability of vineyard production is under threat, climate change is making harder and harder for traditional indigenous grapes to be grown at levels of economic sustainability , demand is declining and younger farming generations are declining in favour of other professions.
For France this is the perfect storm but the signs are evident, there is never just one factor that forces change there is always many but what surprises me is the shock the industry feigns when it realises that this is not a new event but one of many years in the making.
The warning signs for the rest of global world of wine and for Australia are evident , there is very few factors that wine growers and producers can directly control, they are at the mercy of consumers, Mother Nature, inflation and a rapidly changing social demographic
There appears to be no silver bullet, its not just simply about how we engage more effectively with new wine drinkers, this is about what shape the global wine industry needs to adopt to meet these challenges.
Wine makers are traditionally slow to change and adapt, I remember one Jura one maker telling me the following:
to get change in the wine industry here in Jura you need to wait until the older wine makers simply die and are replaced by younger ones, then and only then will change be seen as necessary. We really need to speed this process up before it is too late!
Santé kids and enjoy your day
Cheers
Leigh