Italy overtakes France again as world's leading wine producer
Italy has regained its position as the world's largest wine producer this year, according to figures submitted to the European Union.
Italy has regained its position as the world's largest wine producer this year, according to figures submitted to the European Union.
It will produce 50.4m hectolitres, 13.4% up on last year. Production in France, traditionally the largest producer, has contracted by 1% to 46.5m hl.
Spain is the third largest wine-producing country in the world. However, this year its output will fall to 42m hl, a drop of 2.3%.
French winemakers had to battle difficult weather conditions this year, facing both a heatwave and a drought. Production in Burgundy and Beaujolais, in particular, has reportedly been the most affected.
Italy benefited from a mild September which boosted its yield. Adverse weather the previous year had led production to slump from a high of 54m hl to 44.4m hl.
France has only out-produced Italy in two of the last six years, 2011 and 2014.
Elsewhere, the data shows production growing exponentially in Eastern Europe, with both the Czech Republic and Slovenia reporting large spikes in growth. The former has expanded by 42.3%, the latter by 36.4%.
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