The Dire Effects Of Climate In The Vineyard

An unprecedented and catastrophic  wave of frost, biting its way through gentle buds and developed flowers, destroyed much of the expected vintage

It is unlikely you will see much 2017 Bordeaux, 2017 vintage Champagne, 2017 Chablis, or any 2017 bottle by several independent winemakers across France’s appellations. There will be virtually no 2017 Chinon or Bourgueil.

An unprecedented and catastrophic wave of frost, biting its way through gentle buds and developed flowers, destroyed much of the expected vintage during a series of terrifyingly glacial nights at the end of April and the start of May of this year.

Every year, French winemakers eagerly await for the “Saints de Glace” or Ice Saints to pass May 15th for their crops to be safe from frost. It is not so much the wave of frost as the preceding heatwave that is unprecedented. The frost can only be as destructive as the vegetation’s development allowed for by warm weather. This year the wait proved particularly harrowing as a wave of warm weather caused the buds to have fully formed well in advance of the vine’s yearly cycle. In some regions the inflorescences or flower bunches were on full display.

Global climate zones are influenced by a few major factors: the warm band of moisture moving west to east around the Equator; the poles’ cold air circulating east to west; and the jet streams, moving west to east roughly where the hot and cold air masses meet. Since global temperature aims for equilibrium, as the oceans get warmer, thus increasing the mass of warm air drifting ever further north, it is inevitable that the arctic zone will push back violently. It is precisely such a push-back France experienced this year, with extremely cold air immediately following an uncharacteristically warm period.