Irrigation has always been strictly regulated in the European vineyards. But drought affects more and more wine vineyards, and the rules are loosened. It has been generally allowed in France for several years to irrigate until August 15. But it is up to each appellation to decide whether they want to allow irrigation or not. Champagne does not allow it, for example.
By popular demand, the French Ministry of Agriculture has now changed the rules, and from now on, you can irrigate until September 15. It can be assumed that within the next few years, there will be many changes even in those regions that never even had to think about irrigation because they always had enough rain, such as Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.
At the same time, various possibilities for coping with dry spells other than with irrigation or at least minimizing the amount of water are being investigated. If the vine is stressed by the drought, even a very small amount of water can make a big difference. But the wine industry is also mostly very aware that water is not a limitless resource.
