The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has released a report unveiling some disturbing wine news. According to the organisation, the wine harvest in 2023 was at its lowest point since 1961. Even though climate change wasn’t the only factor contributing to the worrisome numbers, the OIV describes it as the most important wrongdoer.
As an intergovernmental organisation, the OIV brings together 50 States and represents 75% of the world’s vineyard area. Even though OIV already expressed concerns in 2023, the real numbers turned out to be even worse. Overall, 237 million hectolitres of wine were produced in 2023.
In the European Union, wine production declined by 10% in 2023 with Italy being one of the countries suffering the most, representing a 23% drop. Only France succeeded in growing its wine production by 4%, thereby being the world’s largest wine producing country. On a worldwide scale, Australia suffered even more and experienced a decline of 26%.
“We know that the grapevine, as a long-lived plant cultivated in often vulnerable areas, is strongly affected by climate change,” OIV’s director John Barker said in a statement. “The most important challenge that the sector faces is climate change, with drought, extreme heat and fires, as well as heavy rain causing flooding and fungal diseases across major northern and southern hemisphere wine producing regions.”
Other than a drop in production, the wine industry is currently also experiencing a drop in consumption. Wine sales are at their lowest point since 1996 and down by 3% compared to last year, thereby leaving 16 million litres of wine unconsumed. Portugal, France and Italy are still the world’s biggest wine consumers per capita but inflation and the fact that a Chinese economic slowdown lowered the country’s wine consumption hit the industry hard.
According to Barker, a lifestyle change is also at the root of the lessening wine consumption. The director said it is therefore difficult to estimate what the future will bring even though he points to inflation as being the biggest cause for the decline. The OIV’s numbers indicate wine has never been as expensive as it was last year, a later costing 3,62 euros on average, up by 2% compared to 2022 and by 29% compared to 2020.
