EU wine production drops
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said the fall, from 294 mhl in 2018, merely brought production back to around average after exceptionally large output in 2018.
France and Italy, the two largest producers in the European Union, recorded 15% falls in production and Spain suffered a 24% drop. Production in all three countries was below their five-year average, the OIV said.
“This can be explained mainly by aleatory weather conditions, notably a very cold and rainy spring followed by an extremely hot and dry summer,” it said.
Production in the 28-nation EU — which accounts for about 60% of global wine output — was 156.0 mhl, or 26.7 mhl below last year. France, Italy and Spain account for 80 percent of the total EU output.
Image: GettyImages/Praiwan Wasanruk