In 2016, the Pessac-Léognan appellation in northern Graves in Bordeaux changed its rules to allow irrigation during severe drought. Irrigation is a much-discussed topic in France today, and as the hot and dry summers continue, more appellations will surely relax their rules.
Irrigation is not about increasing the yield, Pessac-Léognan emphasizes, but about preventing the vines from dying. This summer, 80 hectares of Pessac-Léognan’s total of 1,850 hectares were requested by producers for irrigation permits.
In 2021 it became possible to request irrigation in Pomerol, and already in 2017, Saint Emilion changed its rules. For all three, permission is only granted “in case of persistent drought and when it interferes with the good physiological development of the vines and the good ripening of the grapes.”
Read more: Vitisphere
Note: it is a hard-to-kill myth that irrigation is banned in Europe. Irrigation is permitted in Europe’s vineyards, but local appellation rules may prohibit it. There are also usually strict rules about how and when it can be done.
