As many as a quarter of all Beaujolais growers (ie 500 growers) will possibly go bankrupt before the year is over. So great is the crisis in the region, according to La Vigne. The harvest in 2012 will, due to various weather problems, be small and this will not help the situation. The growers expect a yield of only 35 hectolitres per hectare instead of the permitted 60 hectolitres.
Beaujolais has suffered several years of declining prices. It’s a shame. Beaujolais has so much to offer and is in many ways a unique wine. We hope people will soon start to appreciate it again.
But of course, growers must be able to deliver quality. Maybe it’s good that some growers will disappear and with them the bad wine. Beaujolais – as we’ve said before here in the Brief – needs to work on its image now that Beaujolais Nouveau has lost some of its appeal (except in Japan, apparently).
Gamay is an amazing grape when grown in Beaujolais. It has a fruitiness that few other grapes can beat.
We keep our fingers crossed for Beaujolais!
Read more in La Vigne Mag Lavigne Mag
