The first estimates of world wine production for 2021 show extremely low volume is expected, at a level similar to 2017.
World wine production is expected to be historically low in 2021, the third consecutive year of below average global production. The first estimates of this year's production have been released by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).
The 4% drop to a mid-point estimate of 250.3 million hectolitres (mhl) is due to "unfavourable climatic conditions that severely impacted the major wine producing countries in Europe this year", the intergovernmental group said. Late frosts in April hammered France, Italy and Spain, which together account for 45% of world wine production. EU production is estimated to fall 13% to 145 million hectolitres (mhl), with France bearing the brunt of the disastrous vintage.
The Southern Hemisphere and the US bucked the negative trend seen in Europe. Relatively favourable weather helped record high production levels in South American countries, South Africa and Australia, OIV said.
New Zealand was the only exception, where late spring frosts cut the harvest volume leading to fears of a shortage of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. First harvest forecasts in the US indicate production volumes slightly above those of 2020. Germany, Portugal, Romania and Hungary are the only large EU wine producing countries to record bigger harvests this year.
