World wine output at a four-year-low

Global wine production has fallen by 5% because of “climatic events” causing steep drops in production in most of the southern hemisphere, particularly Chile and Argentina.

While the amount of wine produced this year should meet estimated consumer demand, the figures from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), which show that 2016 was among the lowest production years in the past two decades, are a bleak reminder of how global warming and natural climate variability are having a profound effect on wine, and perhaps where it will be grown in future.

Italy produced the most wine in 2016, followed by France, Spain, the US, Australia and China. France remained in the top three despite a 12% drop in production to 41.9m hectolitres.

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