Real Wine Fair – 8th May 2017 – frost haunts Tobacco Dock

 David Fourbet, La Folle Berthe, Saumur (4.5 ha domaine)
One of the lucky ones with 
little frost damage in Le Puy Notre Dame 
just in a parcel of Pineau d'Aunis)

It was good to be at The Real Wine Fair at a decidedly chilly to meet up with some Loire producers but there was an overall sadness due to the extent of the damage caused by the series of frosts in late April. For all too many there will be little or no 2017 harvest. Already there are rumours of producers having to give up because of the succession of small crops and, in particular, two years of often severe Spring frosts in 2016 and now 2017. 

It is stark that producers, who have lost up to 20% of their crop, count themselves as lucky as nearby colleagues have lost their entire crop – 'plus que rien' or almost all of it.     

Sébastien David and Stéphanie Caslot representing the Loire 

Sébastien just a loss of 10% in 2017

Stéphanie again badly hit more than 60% estimated loss  

Stéphanie Caslot at Tobacco Dock 

Marc Pesnot, VDF Melon (Muscadet)

Relatively unscathed in Nantais with 20% loss max

Jo Landron – 35%

Benoit Landron (Muscadet, Coteaux de la Loire): 50% loss 

Odile et Lucile Verdier, Cave Verdier-Logel (Côtes de Forez) 

Not frosted 

Antoine Michon, son of Thierry, 

Domaine Saint-Nicolas, Fiefs-Vendéens  

15ha frosted out of 39 ha in 2017
25 ha out of 39ha frosted in 2016 

Brendan Tracey, Domaine le Clocher, Vendôme

Severely frosted

 

Pascal Verhaeghe, Cahors, Château de Cèdre 

The late April frost had a big impact elsewhere 

in France and beyond not just the Loire. 

Cahors suffered a series of frosts with 

Friday 28th April being the most destructive