Grapes affected by white powdery mildew. ew, which reportedly affected up to 90% of the vineyards.
French authorities deemed the service necessary after a period of unusual weather that destroyed a number of vineyards in the Bordeaux region.
The crop failure left growers feeling “dejected” and overestimating the viability of their farms, according to industry experts.
Nicolas Moraine, who has been with the helpline since it launched on Wednesday, said the wife of one manufacturer called him in tears. “These calls are coming from people who are really in distress,” said Mr. Morin of the agricultural organization MSA Gironde.
Our goal is to first listen to them, give them the opportunity to share their difficulties, and then help them run a business, and also help them on a psychological level.”
“Some growers have already lost everything,” the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture said in a statement. “In the memory of winemakers, we have never seen this: this year, the mold has not spared anyone and has taken on unprecedented proportions.”
Some hotline operators are social workers. Those who work on the phone are being urged to help manufacturers organize holidays to take a break from work, Mr Moraine said. He added that callers who need professional help will be referred to professional psychologists.
The mold first attacks branches and leaves, then spreads to the bunches of grapes and dries out the fruit.
According to Laurent Bernos, head of the department of viticulture and winemaking at the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture, along with stimulating rapid plant growth, the unseasonably tropical weather in Bordeaux also contributed to the growth of mold, which spread uncontrollably. White varieties such as Sauvignon and Semillon are hardly used.
“It's a bit like natural disasters,” Mr. Bernos said. “It's a combination of various factors that create the perfect storm.”
Another setback is that 10,000 hectares of vineyards in the region will be uprooted after harvest this year to address overproduction and falling demand.
“After all these successive crises, this is the straw that broke the camel's back,” Mr Moraine said. “We are approaching a real situation of extreme crisis.”
Mr Moraine said he heard from growers who are reconsidering their careers due to mold.
“They question their professionalism. They do not understand why, having done everything they could, following all the instructions, the fungus took over. There is a deep sense that they have missed something.”
Severe hurricanes
Allan Sichel, president of the Interprofessional Council of Bordeaux Wines, or CIVB, which represents growers, growers and traders in the region, said farmers were frustrated by the severe hurricanes that prevented them from working on the land.
“That's what causes vine growers' dismay, he works hard, he gets up at any time of the day, at any time of the night, to go and protect his vines, and then, in spite of all this, they can lose complete control. Disease wins despite their best efforts. This is a very traumatic moment for the vineyards who are suffering.”
But Mr. Sichel was also more optimistic about the overall outlook, pointing out that the Chamber of Agriculture’s analysis is based on testing only 86 control plots while the vineyard area is 110,000 hectares, and that extreme weather events these days could affect some areas more than others.
“Unprecedented but that weather forecasts are much less reliable and predictable than in the past.”
>
CORRECT. An earlier version of this article reported that mold damaged 90% of the crop in Bordeaux vineyards. It was wrong. In fact, the unusual weather has affected up to 90 percent of the vineyards in the Bordeaux region. We are happy to clarify this.
Recent Comments