Global wine production slumps to lowest in 2017

London, March 10 (IANS) Global wine production slumped to its lowest level in more than 50 years in 2017 after vines in the worlds top three producers -- France, Spain and Italy -- were ravaged by extreme hot and cold weather, a media report said.

Hard-hit regions include those producing Rioja and prosecco, which make large quantities of the affordable wines sold in supermarkets, the Guardian report said on Friday.

"We'll start to see those (2017) wines coming to the market now and I think for higher volume, lower price wine you will see cost increases," says Dan Jago, Chief Executive of high end wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd.

"Prices for things like pinot grigio or generic Spanish reds will rise by between 10 per cent and 30 per cent and it's (a question of) how much of that retailers will pass on.

"Prosecco was very hard hit by frost, so there will be less of it and the price will go up," Jago added.

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine estimates global wine production dropped 8 per cent to 247m hectolitres in 2017, the worst global harvest since 1961, the Guardian reported.

A hectolitre is the equivalent to 133 standard wine bottles, so the fall in output equates to about 2.9 billion fewer bottles.

Last month, the Bordeaux wine council said production in what is France's largest wine growing region was down 40 per cent with vineyards in Saint-Emilion worst affected by the severe frost.

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