After the catastrophic year of 2021 in which France's winegrowers had to struggle with late frost, hail and mildew, 2022 brought a qualitatively and quantitatively satisfactory yield in practically all winegrowing regions of the country. The total quantity is 18 per cent above the previous year. In Burgundy, a promising red wine vintage is on the horizon. Thanks to moderate temperatures throughout the summer and cool nights in late summer, the wines are said to be more elegant and less alcoholic than the 2018s, for example.

Similar reports are also heard from the Rhone Valley: although the harvest took place three weeks earlier than usual, the fruitiness of the wines and their structure are apparently positive: rainfall in mid-August and early September prevented the alcohol levels from shooting up too much. One climate winner in this warm year was obviously the Loire Valley - especially for the red wines, 2022 is supposed to be a decidedly top year.

In Bordeaux, there are indications that 2022 could be a Cabernet Sauvignon year: Heat and drought set the pace in the vineyard. The white varieties were already harvested in mid-August, earlier than ever before. According to the industry association CIVB, the forest fires that destroyed a total of 28,000 hectares of forest at the end of July and in mid-August, had no effect on the wine qualities of the wine-growing communities located near the sources of the fires. By all accounts, 2022 could turn out to be a heterogeneous year with outstanding qualitative peaks.

In Champagne, the choice of harvest dates was a challenge, as phenolic ripeness still left much to be desired, while sugar levels in the berries were already starting to rise and acidity levels were falling. Even houses for which biological acid degradation is part of the stylistic brand essence in the preparation of the base wines therefore often dispensed with the acid-reducing malo this year. Harvest volumes in Champagne were conspicuously high: 96 percent above last year and 33 percent above the long-term average. In Languedoc, the harvest was already over in many places by mid-August, with yields almost ten percent above the long-term average. The situation is different in the southwest - in AOCs such as Cahors, Saint-Mont and Madiran: Here, smaller quantities than usual were harvested due to the persistent drought; initial figures show a downfall of eight percent.