BIO Dossier: 2024, a vintage year for fighting back

The 2024 season was a harsh one for Burgundy's winegrowers. "In April, it started with frosts and hailstorms. In the affected areas, the harvest potential was severely reduced as early as spring," reports Christine Monamy, head of Agrometeorology at the BIVB (Interprofessional Bureau of Burgundy Wines). "Then heavy rains took over." The most striking example: Chablis where "more than 626 mm fell from April to September", compared to 370 mm in an average year... "Under these conditions, mildew developed earlier than ever, and at an impressive speed".

Up to twenty-one treatments per season

A catastrophic scenario for all winegrowers. But even more so for organic growers, as Agnès Boisson, advisor at the specialized association BioBourgogne, explains. “In conventional viticulture, treatment products penetrate the plant and are therefore less dependent on rainfall. They can protect the vines for up to fifteen days at a time. In organic farming, the main products used, sulfur and copper, are less harmful, but only work by contact. So the rain washes them away, and every time 20 millimeters of rain falls, treatment must be repeated.” Thus, “organic winegrowers treated their entire vineyards an average of fifteen times in 2024. Some, up to twenty-one times…” All this alongside plowing: “Weeds also love water, and in organic farming, no herbicides!” To top it all off, the waterlogged plots sometimes prevented tractors from passing. “For each treatment, there was a window of opportunity.” Anyone who missed it could lose their harvest.

The year's setbacks are easier to understand. "No one achieved the expected yield. Some managed to limit the damage, but there were also disasters. Especially where the rains were heaviest, in Côte de Nuits And in Chablis. There, a winemaker told me he had only harvested forty hectoliters from twenty-five hectares.” That’s 1.6 hectoliters per hectare… instead of the permitted 60. “In that case, it’s not worth harvesting,” laments Agnès Boisson. These situations are encountered “more often in estates that have recently converted to organic farming, which don’t yet have the workforce or equipment necessary to cope with these extreme conditions.”

“If the situation "If it happens again in 2025, I fear many abandonments."

Beyond the figures, "we underestimate the psychological distress stemming from this powerlessness in the face of the elements," the advisor insists. "This summer, a producer told me he was ashamed to be a winemaker. He had just taken over the family vineyard." Recognizing this distress, BioBourgogne organized crisis meetings. "In each department, we invited all the certified winemakers. Some arrived in despair. They needed to talk. It allowed them to see that they weren't alone."

Enough to put things back into question Certification? "Many, even experienced ones, have asked themselves the question..." question “At some point or another,” Agnès Boisson asserts. But ultimately, “There were few withdrawals. Far fewer than in 2016, which was a less difficult year. The excellent harvests of 2022 and 2023 may have played a role. I also think the winemakers are more experienced.” But the relief ends there. “If it rains every day again from April 15th to May 15th this year, 2025, I fear many will abandon the label. Two small harvests in a row is economically unsustainable.”

So, what can we expect from the weather in 2025? "It's obviously impossible to predict today," says Christine Monamy, who nevertheless warns, "With climate change, we often focus on the increase in heat waves and droughts. But interannual variability still exists. There will be other very wet years in the future."

 

Laurie Vincent, oenologist at the Burgundia Oenology laboratory

"A vintage that's easier in the cellar than in the vineyard."

“All the winegrowers I advise in Côte-d'Or had low yields this year. This is more pronounced in organic than in conventional winemaking, but not by much! Due to the rain and weakened foliage, the grapes struggled to ripen, particularly in Côte de Nuits "It will therefore be a fresh vintage, with low alcohol levels and moderate tannins. Occasionally, damaged berries may have imparted some dry or earthy notes to the juice, but I didn't detect any more of this in organic than in conventional wines. In this respect, it was primarily the harvest dates and sorting practices that made the difference. Overall, the winemaking went very well. This year, the winemakers took particular care not to over-extract when the grapes were just barely ripe. As a result, we have far fewer green notes than in 2021, a vintage from which the winemakers had surely learned some lessons."

 

Changing the organic label: a lost cause?

As we mentioned in our previous issue, faced with the anticipated crop losses of 2024, some organic producers have called for an adaptation of the label's specifications. Their request includes an increase in the permitted doses of copper used to combat downy mildew, authorization of alternative products, and exceptional financial support. These demands, according to Agnès Boisson, advisor at BioBourgogne, "unfortunately have very little chance of succeeding." "It's a European label, and we have little influence at the Burgundy level." For the advisor, the most urgent priority is "fighting to maintain our current status," particularly regarding the smoothing of copper application rates. "Winegrowers are entitled to 28 kilos per hectare every seven years, to be allocated as they see fit. This flexibility allows for the use of more copper during difficult years." But the situation could change. "A maximum of four kilos per hectare each year is being discussed. That would be disastrous for the industry." Copper, although safe for human health, is suspected of harming soil life, particularly earthworms. For this reason, it is under scrutiny by the European Food Safety Authority, which is responsible for its approval.