The impressive spectacle of French vineyards under fire to save the harvest

It is a nocturnal spectacle that rarely occurs, at most, one or two nights a year. To fight against frost, this week the winegrowers of Chablis, Côte d’Or or Pouilly-Fumé Light braziers and straw bales to protect your vineyards from the cold.

After the summer heat at the end of March, the cold has been setting in France since the beginning of April. In the Burgundy region, temperatures are negative at night, with up to -5 ° C in some places and occasional snowfall, to the chagrin of the winegrowers.

For two nights, they have been trying to protect their plots from frost, especially those of the Chablis appellation. Candles lit in the middle of the vines to gain a few degrees, watered vines to create a protective film of ice, everyone is trying to do what they can to save the shoots and, in a few months, the 2021 harvest.

Expensive operations

Unfortunately, these large-scale operations are not the guarantee of a preserved harvest: if the temperature drop is too great, the shoots freeze. In addition, the start of this candle system is expensive: 9 euros per torch, and it takes around 400 per hectare. The winegrowers must choose between their plots to save the most famous and sacrifice the others.

Winemaker Frédéric Gueguen told Vibration radio that He was only able to protect one hectare of the 26 on his farm. His harvest is reduced to next to nothing, but he still has some hope with the ardor that will emerge in the weeks to come. “This second generation of sprouts is less successful, but it still is, so we can expect half a harvest if all goes well,” he says.

A recurring phenomenon

According to Frédéric Gueguen, this episode of frost, unusual for the month of April, is due to climate change: “We no longer have winter and the springs are quite chaotic, with sometimes summer temperatures, like last week, ”he explains.

As a result, the vegetation woke up more than it should, before this week’s frost brought it to a halt. And if similar phenomena have already occurred in 1991 and 2003, the last one dates back to 2016 and this recurrence worries the winegrowers.

Originally posted by RFI