Vins de Provence Vintage 2021: An eventful year leading to a great crop
As 2021 bottles hit shelves, a summary of the Vins de Provence harvest has been released.
From drought over the winter, to a rainy spring and an extensive wildfire in August, 2021 was anything but plain sailing for winegrowers in the plains of Les Maures.
The growing season began around 10 to 15 days later in certain areas than in 2020, when budburst came particularly early. Key dates thus reverted to those of a typical year.
Between 7 to 8 April, an extremely rare occurred, affecting areas that had not experienced frost for fifty years, causing severe damage to the earliest ripening vines and a sudden stop in budburst on others. However, severe damage for some winegrowers did not translate to widespread losses across the region.
Despite the challenges of the vintage, the crop turned out to be propitious. The hot, dry summer was beneficial for winegrowers. The fruit was healthy, with average alcohol content and good acidity. Harvesting kicked off around 20 August for the coastal areas and the beginning of September for the others, ending in good conditions at the start of October.
On top of the quality, the 2021 harvest was also satisfactory from a volume perspective and was on par with the five-year average. Production came in at 1,255,060 hl, equivalent to 167 million bottles, guaranteeing a marketing potential to support the growth rate for Vins de Provence.
Meanwhile, with sales of 1.1 million hectolitres, Vins de Provence Rosés recovered its pre-Covid level, erasing the negative performance in 2020 caused by the pandemic and tensions in the American market.
Last year, export sales totalled 461,470 hectolitres, a 64% increase compared to five years ago. The upswing confirms the potential of Vins de Provence rosés in the international marketplace, particularly in the leading European markets (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Sweden), which are all showing clear growth. The rising volumes also coincide with improved price points, with average bottle prices up 4%.
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