Scattered Hail Pummels Several Bordeaux Vineyards

On the afternoon of Friday, April 17^th, a violent hailstorm pummeled many vines within the Bordeaux wine region of southwestern France. Hailstones the size of small bird’s eggs snapped branches across many vineyards. According to the Sud Ouest newspaper, scattered hail hit vineyards surrounding the town of Saint-Émilion—including within the communes of Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse and Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens.

One winemaking couple who produce renowned Saint-Émilion Grand Cru wines and who own several vine plots—including one within an impact zone within Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes—shared photos of broken branches as well as piles of massive hailstones that sprayed across portions of their property. Although they still have to accurately quantify damages, their initial reconnaissance shows potential vine losses of between 10% and 20%. Damage was also widespread within the nearby Côtes de Castillon wine region within the ‘right bank’ region of Bordeaux vineyards.

Damage was also significant within portions of the Entre-Deux-Mers wine region of Bordeaux—situated south of the inverted ‘V’ shape where the sizable Garonne and Dordogne rivers meet. One producer working within the communes of Targon and La Sauve told how he lost 67 acres (27 hectares) of vines from the impact.

Assessments of the damage are still being quantified.