Ultimately, the global wine harvest is expected to be "extremely low" in volume in 2021, the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) announced on Thursday.

World wine production is estimated at around 250 million hectoliters, "barely higher" than "historically low in 2017", according to initial estimates from the Paris-based organization.

The decrease would be around 4% compared to 2020.

The wine sector, which was able to show itself "resilient and creative" during the Covid-19 crisis in 2020, "faces a much bigger problem than the pandemic: climate change", said the director general of the OIV, Spaniard Pau Roca, at an online press conference.

The "climatic anomalies" are more and more frequent, he noted.

"There is no vaccine" in the face of climate change but "there are long-term solutions, which will require great efforts in terms of sustainable practices for growing vines and making wine", he said.

"It is a pressing need"

In the European Union, France is the one which "suffered the most from the effects of a disastrous vintage", with severe frosts in April, followed by summer rains, hailstorms and episodes of mildew, a parasitic fungus, underlined the OIV.

Second world producer in 2020 behind Italy, it should move to third place, behind Spain, for the first time since 2013.

Together, these countries, which represent 45% of world production, have lost around 22 million hectoliters compared to 2020.

Italian production should represent 44.5 million hectoliters in 2021, down 9% year on year.

Spain forecasts a production of 35 million hectoliters (-14%).

France would arrive just after, with 34.2 million hectoliters (-27%).

"That is to say its lowest volume of production since 1957", according to Pau Roca.

Consumption on the rise

On the other hand, Germany, the fourth European producer, fared well, with production up 4% to 8.8 million hectoliters.

Outside the EU, Switzerland is expected to see its harvest fall by 10% to 0.8 million hectoliters, the lowest for 20 years.

In the United States, production is estimated at 24.1 million hectoliters, up 6% from 2020, a year marked by fires.

China has not yet released its harvest forecast, but the OIV expects "a further drop in wine production and consumption," said Giorgio Delgrosso, head of the OIV's statistics department.

As for the southern hemisphere, it can have a smile.

2021 was "very positive" for its vineyards, after a bad year 2020. Wine production should reach a record level of 59 million hectoliters (+ 19%).

In South America, Chile produced 13.4 million hectoliters (+ 30% over one year), the highest for 20 years.

Argentina follows, with 12.5 million hectoliters (+ 16%).

Brazil posted a 60% jump to 3.6 million hectoliters.

On the Oceania side, Australia saw its harvest increase by 30% to 14.2 million hectoliters, the highest since 2006.

Will there be enough wine this year to quench the thirst of Earthlings?

Pau Roca is "not at all pessimistic" on this plan because there are enough stocks, according to him.

The OIV expects a 2% rebound in world wine consumption this year, after a 3% drop in 2020, a year strongly affected by the health restrictions linked to Covid-19, underlines Giorgio Delgrosso.

“Consumption will return to its pre-pandemic level except in China,” he predicts.

© 2021 AFP