Gard winemakers count the cost of floods
in the level of wine produced there this year, with as many as
30,000 hectares of vineyards damaged in the Gard alone.
The floods which have devastated large parts of southern France, in particular the department of Gard, have taken a major toll on vineyards in the region just as the harvesting season begins.
Up to 40 per cent of the vineyards in the Gard alone are said to have been destroyed by the floods, caused by torrential rain last weekend, and this year's output of wines will clearly be affected.
Early estimates suggest that some 30,000 hectares of vineyards have been damaged by the floods, more bad news for the department's winemakers who have already struggled to make ends meet in the difficult economic climate.
The Gard authorities have sent a questionnaire to all the department's viticulteurs in an attempt to assess the scale of the damage to both crops and production facilities. These questionnaires will be assessed by experts from the Department of Agriculture in Nimes, and a plan of action will be drawn up as quickly as possible in a bid to limit the effects of the damage as much as possible.
Harvesting will begin, by hand at least, in many of the vineyards unaffected or only partially damaged by the floods, and the Gard authorities are keen to stress that there are still some 35,000 hectares of vineyards which will be able to produce wine this year.
