France further cut its estimate for this year’s wine production, putting output below 2024’s historically low level, after summer heat waves and wildfires hit vineyards.
With the grape harvest nearly complete, output is now seen at 36 million hectoliters, the agriculture ministry said in a report from the country’s agriculture ministry. That’s down from a September estimate of 37.4 million hectoliters and 16% below the five-year average. It comes after the worst fires in seven decades caused extensive damage to vineyards and other agricultural land in the southwest.
“The heat wave and drought in August reduced production potential, speeding up the ripening of the grapes while preventing them from swelling,” according to the report. “The result was smaller berries with less juice, which the late September rains failed to make up for.”
The nation is one of the world’s largest winemakers, and the challenging weather marks another blow to the industry after President Donald Trump slapped a 15% import tariff on European shipments to the US earlier this year. Demand is also dwindling elsewhere, with the French government helping farmers uproot vines amid a global wine glut.
Photograph: Burned grape vines in a vineyard following a wildfire in Fontjoncouse, Aude, on Aug. 8, 2025; photo credit: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg
Topics France
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