The French Ministry of Agriculture said that the country's wine production this year is expected to decrease by 6% compared to 2025, after a summer recording unprecedented heat waves and droughts.
With this decrease, France is forecast to experience the lowest harvest in about 70 years.
According to estimates released by the Ministry of Agriculture, France - the second largest wine producer in the world after Italy - is expected to produce less than 3.4 billion liters of wine in 2026, down from about 3.6 billion liters in 2025.
Notably, data from the statistics agency under this Ministry shows that production in 2026 decreased due to the shrinking of grape growing area, along with lower yields due to drought and hot spells. The expected output level is also 17% lower than the average for the period 2021 - 2025.
Previously, the International Organization for Grapes and Wines (OIV), the global wine production and consumption monitoring agency, informed that France's production in 2025 was at a record low, the lowest since 1957.
However, the level of impact varies significantly between regions. Specifically, in Champagne, production is expected to decrease by half compared to the whole of 2025 and the 5-year average.
Conversely, in Languedoc - Roussillon in southern France, production is expected to increase by 5% compared to the low crop of 2025 thanks to improved productivity. However, this figure is still 8% lower than the average for the period 2021 - 2025.
In an effort to support the agricultural sector affected by severe weather, France announced last week an emergency support package worth more than 1 billion euros for farmers. However, agricultural organizations believe that this support is still not fully meeting the actual needs in this country.
