French wine production to collapse due to heat and drought

Wine production in France will fall to a century low due to drought and heat. Interfax reports this with reference to data from the Ministry of Agriculture of the European country.

This year, local winemakers will produce 34.9 million hectoliters of the drink, while a month ago they expected 33.9 million hectoliters. At the same time, production will still be two percent below last year’s level and 14 percent below the average for the period 2021-2025.

“This decline is caused by both a reduction in vineyard area and a drop in yields due to drought and extreme summer heat. However, significant differences remain between wine-growing regions: some are suffering significant losses, while in others, yields exceed last year’s figures,” the department notes.

The forecast upgrade was driven by better-than-expected grape yields in the Languedoc-Roussillon, the country's largest wine region, which received late summer rains. Experts expect production to reach 10.585 million hectoliters, 20 percent higher than last year and two percent higher than the last five years.

Although the weather in the spring was good and contributed to a positive forecast, summer drought damaged the vines and reduced yields. In 2024 and 2025, the country's wine production was also low by historical standards.