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Extreme weather to blame as France’s wine output set to fall by 12%

Spring frosts followed by summer heatwaves have taken their toll on French vineyards.

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France’s wine output is expected to fall 12% this year, after spring frosts followed by summer heatwaves took a heavy toll on vineyards across the country, reports The Guardian.

Overall production is estimated to reach 43.4m hectolitres (1.15bn gallons), down from 49.4m hectolitres last year, the country’s agriculture ministry said on Friday.

That would be about 4% below average production over the past five years, the ministry added.

Large swaths of France were hit by spring cold snaps that killed off young grape clusters or stunted their growth, in particular in the west.

Read more of this report from The Guardian.