Beaune (France) (AFP)

After the "exceptional" white wines of 2018, Burgundy expects this year again a vintage quality, even if uncertainties hover over the volumes, said Wednesday industry professionals at a press conference.

The winemakers are planning "wines with a lot of freshness, in red and white", presenting "formidable balances with very nice acidities", so argued François Labet, president of the Interprofessional Office of Burgundy wines (BIVB).

But the harvest "that we are making wine presents some uncertainties as to the volumes," he added, adding that the stocks had however "found satisfactory levels" thanks to the 2017 and 2018 vintages.

These last ones followed several harvests cut by the vagaries of climate including that, historically low, of 2016.

In 2019, "the vagaries of the weather have led to disparities in yield," said the BIVB in a statement: frost in April, after a mild winter and an early start of the growing season, caused "variable damage" according to the sectors ", touching in particular the Mâconnais.

"The drought pronounced during the summer" has also had an impact on the volumes harvested but "the morale remains good because the common denominator (...) is the quality of the grapes".

After several good years, the sales figures are "pretty good" for Burgundy viticulture, said Louis-Fabrice Latour, BIVB delegate president.

"A good dynamic" which is felt in particular in export: + 7.2% in volume (to more than 50 million bottles) and + 10% in value (to nearly 587 million euros) for the first 7 months of the year.

Growth driven notably by sales in the United States, Burgundy's leading foreign customer (almost a quarter of sales in value): the increase is 5.7% in volume (to 10.8 million bottles) and 8% in value (to 135.6 million euros).

But this market is also the one that worries most professionals, while the World Trade Organization (WTO) authorized Wednesday Washington to impose sanctions on European goods and services in the context of the old conflict between Boeing and Airbus, which could touch the wine.

Other sources of concern: Hong Kong where "it can degenerate at any time", according to Mr. Latour, or the United Kingdom, second foreign customer of Burgundy wines, because of uncertainties related to Brexit.

"On England we are rather confident," tempers Mr. Latour, who foresees in the short and medium term "jolts", but ensures that "everything should return to order" with the British.

© 2019 AFP