France is concerned about a potential ‘winter of discontent’ in its vineyards

Top headline in La Croix de Saumur: “The winter of our discontent.”

The French vineyards are still picking over the effects of last year’s unusual cold snap, which lasted from February to April. Many of the country’s winegrowers are worried that the cold weather, coupled with a blistering summer, will hamper the harvest.

Here’s a selection of important data on France’s fine wine:

France accounts for almost a third of the world’s wine production. Each year, winegrowers produce about 270 million cases, or approximately 440 million bottles, according to the French Ministry of Food. The country produced roughly 42 billion bottles of wine in 2014, according to the last official statistics.

The government is focusing on two key sectors: organic farming, where there are less winegrowers, and the improved farming of grapes and vegetables. For this reason, the climate of French vineyards is monitored closely.

Here’s a link to some important facts on France’s state of the wine industry:

See how last year’s frost is affecting France’s wine harvest:

Drinking wine is a tradition in France. According to France-TVchannel i-Tele’s infographic on the wine industry, 40 percent of French believe that drinking wine has become more important than eating at restaurants and drinking at home.

The province of Bordeaux, the birthplace of wines, produces about 3.5 million cases of wine each year. More than half of this is produced by Bernard Clark.

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