Summer Hailstorm Ravages Burgundy

La revue du vin de France (RVF) and other publications report on a storm on July 23, 2013 with hail, strong winds and flash flooding. Estimates of damage vary, RVF says. The initial official report indicates that from 1,700 to 2,000 hectares [4,200 to 4,940 acres] experienced damaging consequences, or approximately 35% to 40% of the vineyards of the Côte de Beaune. They state that regional authorities, on the other hand, put the affected area at 1,350 hectares [3,335 acres] or the equivalent of five percent of Burgundy’s total vineyard surface. Jean-Louis Moissenet, president of the syndicat of growers in Pommard, claims 90% of vineyards situated mid-slope between Beaune and Pommard experienced damage compared with 70% of those on the slope between Pommard and Volnay. The BIVB provides the following estimates of destruction: Volnay, 30% to 70%; Pommard, 50% to 70%, notably the premiers crus; Beaune, 10% to 90% depending on the parcel; Aloxe-Corton, 30% to 50% and particularly the premiers crus; Meursault, especially in the north, 5% to 40%. The 2013 harvest volume on the Côte de Beaune is expected to suffer a significant drop.
 

Ed. Photographs taken during the storm can be viewed on the RVF website.