For Champagne growers, 2016 was not a very good year.
Rot, mildew and a severe frost that swept across Europe has resulted in one of the lowest yielding Champagne seasons since the 1980s, according to wine industry website Decanter. It said wine producers will have to dig into their reserves to make up for the Champagne shortage.
The growing season was complicated for winemakers, Decanter reports. In April, a major frost hit Europe, causing some producers to take as much as a 70 percent loss to their potential harvest. Additionally, some were affected by a mildew epidemic sweeping through Champagne, France, and minor gray rot outbreaks.
Decanter reported 99 percent of the vineyards it monitored had mildew symptoms. Thirty-four percent of the vineyards had more than a 10 percent loss in yield due to mildew, and in 4 percent of the vineyards more than half the crop had been affected, it reported.