Yet another wine producing region has succumbed to the catastrophe of fatal frost. Winemakers all across England have reported at least 50 percent of the 2017 harvest has been lost due to menacing frost. Chris Denbies of Denbies Wine Estate tells BBC that “none of the measures [we] put in place made any difference,” including frost fans, frost blasters, and a plethora of lit candles placed beneath vines.
But England is not alone. Wine-producing regions all across France have been hit hard, including Bordeaux and Champagne.
According to BBC, England currently boasts 133 wineries and produced five million bottles of wine in 2015. England’s main varietals are Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay, the same main varietals as Champagne, due to their high sparkling wine production.
Seems like there’ll be less spark in our sparkling wine game come 2018.