Significant damage was caused to vineyards by storms and hail on Tuesday evening around Perpignan, the Pyrénées-Orientales winegrowers’ union, the French department most affected by the drought, said on Wednesday, September 13.
In the communes of Pollestres or Trouillas, about fifteen kilometers from Perpignan, winegrowers have “lost 80% of the growing crop. There remains 20% in a sector already affected by drought, which had lost 30% of its production,” according to the president of this union, David Drilles. “It’s a big wine sector, there are a lot of wine growers affected. There are also some” in another valley in the department, he said. “We are in the process of doing a complete assessment. »
The drought also risks having consequences beyond the 2023 vintage: winegrowers fear that the plants, exhausted by the lack of rain this year, will die or produce even less fruit next year. Heavy rains also caused flooding in a hypermarket and streets in Perpignan on Tuesday.
