We May Have a Wine Shortage Coming as Production Was 'Extremely Low' This Year

A wine shortage may be on the horizon as experts say that bad weather has had an extreme impact on production, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine.

Bad weather in France, Italy and Spain in 2021 has “severely impacted” wine production, resulting in “severely low” product volume, a statement by the organization said.

This year, France had its smallest wine grape harvest since 1957. Crops in Spain and Italy have both reportedly dipped 9%, according to Roca.

"The year 2021 proved to be very unfortunate for the three largest wine-producing countries in the E.U.—Italy, Spain and France, which account for 45 percent of the world's production," said Roca. Global wine production was below average for the third year in a row.

Wine demand, however, is expected to increase to pre-pandemic levels and wine suppliers may not be able to supply.

“We still expect the global consumption to increase compared to 2020,” OIV’s director general Pau Roca during a conference.

Other European countries like Germany, Hungary and Romania had better seasons, and the Southern Hemisphere, outside of New Zealand, had an increase and therefore no price increases are expected.

Climate Change, however, is still an issue for wineries as adverse weather conditions are still expected in the future. While some wineries didn’t survive the COVID-19 pandemic, the ones that did survive have to continue to worry about the climate.

“There are long-term solutions, which will require major efforts in terms of sustainable practices for cultivating vines and producing wine,” Roca said.

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