Bordeaux is about to become smaller again. The last time it happened was in 2008-2009, after the financial crisis. 10,000 hectares disappeared at the time. Now it is happening again. The plans are to pull up a further 9,000 hectares. The Bordeaux vineyard surface will then be 100,000 hectares.
Many châteaux within the AOC Bordeaux have long had problems selling their wines. The grant of 6,000 euros per hectare that is pulled up will be financed by the state and the Conseil Interprofessionnel du vin de Bordeaux (CIVB). The uprooting will begin this autumn, after the harvest.
One reason for subsidising the growers is that they don’t want the vineyards to be abandoned. There is a fear that flavescence dorée, a severe disease, will spread in abandoned vines and then spread further from there. (See other news item.)
These financial difficulties for AOP Bordeaux are both sad and ironic. It is in dramatic contrast to the huge sums of money that the 50 or so top châteaux bring in thanks to their exclusive luxury wines. Perhaps they could have contributed to helping those with difficulties?
Other crops may eventually be planted in some of the fields. Don’t be surprised if you see olive trees in Bordeaux. Some have already been planted, thanks to the wine crises and climate change.
Read more: larvf
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Bordeaux with BKWine.
