Our Champagne tour at the end of April brought fantastic spring weather and high temperatures (albeit lower in the mornings and evenings). Spring has been early and warm in Champagne.
This has caused problems.
Vegetation and budding are three weeks ahead of normal. This means that the tender buds and leaves are very vulnerable if the night temperatures drop below freezing. And they do. Many vineyards have been hit by frosty nights in recent weeks, resulting in destroyed buds.
Flavien Rutat at Champagne René Rutat says he has lost grapes from one hectare (out of his 7 in total) of the 2026 harvest. And the danger is not over yet. There could also be frost in May. Tender leaves and buds freeze at -4°C when the weather is dry, but in damp weather, -2°C is enough to freeze them.
But frost in some of the vineyards is not always as devastating as you might think. It is common for Champagne vineyards to “overproduce” grapes for just these eventualities. If there is no frost, the excess production is thrown away, if there is frost, it is used from frost-free land.
More about frost in the vineyard on BKWine Magazine:
- Spring frost, is the danger over? This increases the risk of vine damage
- New type of frost control in Burgundy: burning hay (video)
- Spring frost a thing of the past at Château de France in Pessac-Léognan
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Champagne and Burgundy with BKWine. (PS: We’ve written a prize-winning book on Champagne and one on Burgundy.)
