- “Extreme environmental conditions” such as droughts, fires and other climate-related problems are mainly responsible for the largest decline in the last six decades, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV).
- In Switzerland, slightly more wine was produced in 2023 than in the previous year, with a total volume of one hectoliter.
- Italy and Australia are recording the largest decline in wine production.
OIV Director General John Bark referred to “drought, extreme heat and fires as well as heavy rains that caused floods and fungal diseases in the main wine-growing regions of the northern and southern hemisphere”.
Climate problems are not solely responsible for the drastic decline in wine production. But climate change is “the most important challenge” for the industry, explained Barker. The grape vine is “severely affected by climate change”.
France at the top
The worst affected were Italy and Australia, where production fell by 23 and 26 percent respectively. Spain lost more than 5 percent of its production, Chile and South Africa more than 10 percent. In France, wine production bucked the trend and grew by 4 percent. Due to the large decline in production in Italy, France was by far the world’s largest wine producer last year.
Legend:
Low numbers: International wine production is looking back on a bad wine year in 2023. France’s wine production, however, grew by 4 percent.
Keystone / Archive / GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
Last year, 1.01 hectoliters of wine were produced in Switzerland. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to an increase of around 2 million liters or 2 percent. Due to high temperatures and low rainfall during ripening, the sugar content was higher than usual. According to the OIV, a total of 237.3 million hectoliters of wine were produced worldwide. In 2022 it was 262.6 million hectoliters.
The France-based OIV also announced that 3 percent less wine was drunk than in the previous year. This is due on the one hand to inflation and on the other hand to declining consumption in China. The most wine per capita is still consumed in Portugal, France and Italy.