“Economically, it is a disaster.“Simple and clear words from Frédéric Port, president of the Petra Veridis cooperative cellar in Pierrevert, which perfectly describe the disaster caused by the recent nights of frost (from Saturday April 20 to Sunday April 21 and from Monday April 22 to Tuesday April 23) that the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence wine industry is currently going through a sector that was not ready to face this unexpected weather event.
“We had frost in 2021 but this is unheard of. We were not equipped to deal with the freeze, because we are not really a sector subject to that. But this year, there was a fortnight’s advance on the vegetation with a very spring-like end to winter. And there with this winter cold spell that we received, it was not forgiving.“
The State and the Department alongside wine growers
Although provisional, the results are chilling. “All areas of the department have been affected. For the cooperative, the vineyard is 80% affected. Some are even 100% (between Villeneuve and Corbières-en-Provence, Editor’s note)”, says the winegrower who now hopes that the public authorities will be there.
