Harvest 2023: A year full of promise

As the summer sun sets behind the rows of vines, and the sweet fragrance of ripening grapes fills the air, the wine world prepares for one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the year: the harvest. From September to mid-October, the 2023 harvest reflects a year's worth of dedication, passion and hard work, all bottled.

The art of viticulture is largely determined by the vagaries of the weather, which influence the flavors and quality of the wine. The 2022 wine year began with a relatively mild winter, protecting the vines from frost. A promising spring encouraged abundant flowering, raising hopes of a fruitful harvest. A favorable summer period, with warm but not excessive temperatures, put the spotlight on grape ripening.

However, even if it's still too early to estimate whether the 2023 vintage will live up to its predecessor, encouraging signs are emerging.

Harvest by AOC: The diversity of French terroirs

Being in wine country par excellence, each region has its own character, influenced by the unique terroir of each "appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC). We take you on a tour of France's most prestigious regions.

Bordeaux

The Bordeaux vineyards have been blessed with a warm, sunny summer season, giving way to the enthusiasm of a generous, high-quality harvest at the end of a homogeneous ripening period. The red wine harvest is underway from mid-September to the end of October. For white wines, harvesting began rather early, at the end of August, due to peak ripeness. Yields of between 45 and 60hL are expected in 2023, compared with 30 to 40hL in 2022.

Bourgogne

In Bourgogne, the harvest is a sacred ritual. And this year, the winegrowers are all smiles, as a generous harvest is expected. Similar to Bordeaux, with heterogeneous ripeness, the yield is expected to be very good: between 50 and 65hL... the second year in a row that the region has outperformed Bordeaux !

Vallée de la Loire

For this vintage, the harvest promises to be generous, with large volumes: Cabernet Franc around 55hL for Saumur Champigny, Chenin around 60hL still and 65hL bubbly for Vouvray. Sauvignon yields are around 55hL for Touraine.

Champagne

Conditions in the region were very favorable to the production of grapes described as "huge with lots of juice", with a record weight of over 220 grams. The Chardonnays were promising, with magnificent berries, but the Pinots needed to be vigilant, as they didn't get all the warmth they needed. Yield was set at 11,400 kg/ha..

Alsace

The harvest promises to be more promising than last year, flourishing with a good concentration of sugar in the grapes despite the presence of powdery mildew. Yields are forecast to reach 991,000 hL.

Languedoc-Roussillon

The harvest looks set to be a mixed bag: on the one hand, areas that benefited from good rainfall, and on the other, areas where rain was lacking. The result? Sharply reduced volumes and damaged stumps.

What about mildew?

Although mildew has been observed, it does not appear to be as catastrophic as in previous years. Half fungus, half algae, it thrives on humidity and attacks leaves and berries, preventing photosynthesis and grape formation.

Large estates benefiting from quality terroirs are less affected, enabling them to sort the grapes more thoroughly and obtain better-quality wine. Sorting is carried out by high-tech machines. It can be optical, i.e. based on shape and color.  Or densimetric, where sorting is based on grape density. On the other hand, small estates suffer more from downy mildew, as they lack the means to buy these machines, and are forced to pull out vines (especially in the Entre-deux Mers region).