The Charente Scene – Summer 2017

Much of the news from the Charente recently has been about the severe frosts that occurred at the end of April. The air temperature dropped to between -3 and -4°C on two consecutive mornings, affecting around 70% of the vineyards in the cognac growing region. The frost, which was the worst since 1991, damaged the young shoots emerging from the vines and is thought to have affected 40% of total production. A BNIC spokesman said that in a few cases this year’s grape harvest has been completely wiped out and some growers may find it difficult to recover. To help raise the production level of this depleted grape availability, the BNIC have allowed production levels to rise from 10hl to 12hl of pure spirit per hectare. However, some growers, who concentrate on the high quality of their vines, believe this is far more than their vines can produce. We shall wait and see but one consequence could be an increase in cognac prices next year.