Climate change, extreme weather bring challenges to France’s Chablis Wine Country

On a late September morning in the heart of the Chablis wine country, grape pickers carry large, heavy buckets over their sweat-drenched shoulders as they climb the very steep slope of the Vau de Vey vineyard.

It’s the last day of harvest at the Domaine Roland Lavantureux winery, and workers are hand-picking the last of the Chardonnay grapes that will eventually be transformed into the estate’s sparkling, cutting-edge Premier Cru.

But wine lovers around the world may struggle to get their hands on the 2024 ‘millesime’ – wine that comes from a single year’s harvest. It will be available in smaller quantities than usual.

Much of France’s wine country has faced one of the wettest years on record so far in 2024 amid a changing climate after years of challenges to vineyards and wine quality caused by drought and heat. At the Lavantureux estate, picking took just nine days – about half the usual time – after a year of unpredictably harsh weather, marked by frost, hail, record rainfall and the spread of a dangerous fungus that left Chablis growers reeling.

“I’ve been working here since 2010. This is my most difficult year,” says winemaker David Lavantureux, who follows in the footsteps of his father Roland, a winemaker himself. “And all the elders will tell you the same thing. It was a very difficult year because the weather was so unpredictable. We were not spared a single thing.”

The ordeal started in April with the frost. Then in May, a double hail storm hit the region. Then came the relentless rain, until the harvest. According to the Burgundy wine federation, about 1,000 hectares (nearly 2,500 acres) of vines in the Chablis country were affected by the storm in May. And the excess moisture allowed a destructive mold fungus to thrive.

The disease ravages the vineyard

Once established, the disease causes huge crop losses and can also affect wine quality. Together with his brother Arnaud, David fought hard to try to control the mold with various treatments, which were washed away by the rain and proved ineffective.

“In our property, we’re looking at 60 to 65 percent losses,” David Lavantureux said. “It’s going to be a low yield year.”

The impact of the weather was not limited to the Lavantureux property. Wet conditions in France have played havoc with many wine regions this year. Mildew, combined with episodes of frost and hail, reduced overall production. The French Ministry of Agriculture estimates that it will rise to 39.3 million hectoliters, below both 2023 levels (-18%) and the average of the past five years (-11%).

“It was a very hard year, both physically and mentally,” says Arnaud. “We are relieved that the harvest is over. I’m exhausted.”

This year’s challenges will inevitably influence the wines produced at the family winery, resulting in a 2024 vintage with distinct characteristics.

“The balances are not the same at all,” adds Arnaud. “There is more acidity. Maturity is less than optimal. But the goal is to create the wine so that, in the end, the balance is as perfect as possible.”

Adaptation to climate change

Located in the northern part of the Bourgogne region, the vineyards of Chablis have traditionally benefited from a favorable climate — cold winters, hot summers and annual rainfall between 650-700 millimeters (25-27 inches).

But climate change is altering these conditions, bringing unseasonably mild weather, heavier rainfall and recurrent spring freezes that were less frequent in the past.

Frost damage is particularly frustrating. A similar phenomenon has hit French vineyards in recent years, leading to large financial losses. And scientists believe the damaging freeze of 2021 has been made more likely by climate change.

“There was a time when we thought that with the advent of global warming, Chablis would be safe from frost,” says David Lavantureux. “And finally, in the last 15 years, it’s come back even stronger.”

To adapt, winemakers have adopted creative solutions. Pruning the vines later helps delay bud break and reduces vulnerability to late frosts, while keeping more foliage above the fruit protects the grapes from scorching sun in hot summers.

During threats of frost, many growers use expensive methods such as lighting candles in their vineyards. They also install electrical lines to heat the vines or spray water on the buds to create a thin layer of ice that ensures the flower’s temperature stays around freezing, but doesn’t drop much below.

Across the Burgundy region, anti-hail devices were also installed in an attempt to reduce the intensity of hail storms.

“It helps reduce risk, but it’s never 100% protection,” says David Lavantureux. “We’ve seen that again this year, with several hailstorms, two of which were particularly severe.”

Looking ahead

Fortunately for the Lavantureux family, two very good years in 2022 and 2023 should help mitigate financial losses from the reduced 2024 harvest as international demand for Chablis remains strong, particularly in the United States.

In June, the Burgundy wine association said exports of Chablis wine to the U.S. reached 3 million bottles, generating 368 million euros ($410 million), a 19 percent increase over the previous year.

“We left this harvest behind,” says Arnaud Lavantureux. “Now it’s time to think about the next one.”

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Marine Lesprit contributed to this report.

Photo: Leaves of Chardonnay grapes with fungal disease causing major crop losses, pictured at Domaine Lavantureux, in Chablis, Burgundy region, France, Wednesday, September 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

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