France in general did a good harvest in 2018, both in volume and in quality. The Ministry of Agriculture has just published figures for the different regions. Total production was 46.6 million hectolitres, which is 26% higher than 2017, a year affected by both frost and drought that dramatically reduced the size of the harvest.
In 2018 the AOP wines (appellation d’origine protegée, previously AOC) account for 48% of the production. 26% are IGP wines (indication geografique protegée, previously “vin de pays”), 18% is wine for distillation (Cognac, Armagnac etc) and 6% is vin de france (formerly “vin de table”).
Bordeaux has the largest AOP production with 5.2 million hectolitres. Champagne is second with 3.3 million hectolitres, Provence third with 3.1 million hl followed by Languedoc-Roussillon with 2.7 million hl, the Loire Valley and Burgundy/Beaujolais with 2.5 million hl each, the Southwest with 1.3 million hl and Alsace with 1.1 million hl.
Looking at the production of all types of wines, AOP + IGP + vin de france, Languedoc-Roussillon is the number one region with 12.6 million hl.
Source: agreste
