We don’t see much hail in Stevenage so I often struggle to imagine how isolated storms can wreak such havoc in vineyards.
We reported in June how Vouvray had been hit followed by similar news from Champagne and just last Friday a 10-minute hailstorm is reported to have devastated some 20,000 hectares in Bordeaux.
I got a true taste of the violence of such storms last month when the heavens opened as we accompanied a group of members back from a visit in Chablis to our base in Beaune.
Turn the volume up to get the full impact. The noise was deafening.
The good news for wine drinkers is that often a bit of hail can improve quality as the grapes that survive the onslaught can go on to produce excellent wines. But it’s obviously a tragedy for the growers who work so hard on their vines and have to stand helplessly by and watch the destruction ensue.
The storm was a small blip in an otherwise excellent tour of Burgundy. Watch this space for a full report…
Paul Trelford
Head of Copy