© AFP

Expect to pay more for your favorite French wines in 2014

French wine prices hit new highs.

The French government has confirmed the worst: wine prices have risen as much as 32 percent, as a result of small harvests in both 2012 and 2013.

The latest monthly report from Agreste, an arm of the French Ministry of Agriculture, shows that the average price of wine from an appellation increased 18 percent year-on-year in the six months to January 2014. That figure represents a 25 percent rise compared to the average between 2008 and 2012.

In Burgundy, prices increased 32 percent in the first half of the year and represent a massive 51 percent rise compared to the five-year average. The region’s yields were affected by poor weather in both the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons and “limited availability” has pushed prices up, noted Agreste.

Similarly, Bordeaux wine prices are up 20 percent, following the challenging 2013 vintage. Poor weather throughout the season and a devastating hailstorm in the region’s Entre-deux-Mers appellation in early August, severely reduced quantities. The quality of the resulting wines will be assessed later this month at Bordeaux’s annual en primeur week.

Wines from the Côtes du Rhône appellation increased 12 percent in price in the six months to January while Provence wines were up 22 percent.

It is estimated that 42.3 million hectoliters of wine were produced in France in 2013. The 2012 vintage was just 41.2m hl, which represented a 28 percent fall in volume since 2000.

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