With 237 million hectoliters, the world’s winegrowers produced their lowest harvest since 1961, the International Wine Organization announced Thursday.
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A record unmatched since 1961. world wine production fell by 10% in 2023, with 237 million hectoliters produced over the year, announced the International Wine Organization (OIV) in a press release (PDF Document). This decline is the direct consequence of “extreme environmental conditions”, according to the director of the OIV, John Barker. The vines suffered from droughts, heat waves, fires, early frost or rains leading to flooding and disease.
Winegrowers around the world produced 237 hectoliters, their lowest harvest in sixty years. The harvest particularly suffered in Italy (-23% to 38 million hectoliters) and in Spain (-21% to 28 million hectoliters), while it increased slightly in France (+4% to 48 million hectoliters). ‘hectoliters). France thus remains by far the leading wine producer in the world. ahead of Italy (38 million) and Spain (28 million).
Consumption is also plummeting, reaching its lowest level since 1996
As for drinkers, consumption fell by 3% last year, with 221 million hectoliters consumed per year, the lowest level reached since 1996. This record is notably attributed to inflation, which has increased prices. production costs and prices of the bottle of wine. Apart from a jump in 2021 attributed to the lifting of the main restrictions linked to Covid, the trend has remained downward since 2018. The Portuguese, French and Italians are, per capita, the biggest consumers.
The area devoted to vines, for the production of wine or table grapes, for its part fell for the third consecutive year, by 0.5% in 2023 to 7.2 million hectares. In France, where the government has subsidized distillation and grubbing programs to deal with overproduction in certain regions, it fell by 0.4%. The surface area, on the other hand, increased by 3% in India, which entered the top 10 of the largest vineyards in the world.