Global wine production plummets due to 'extreme weather'

Global wine production is set to fall this year to its lowest level in more than half a century after “extreme weather events” caused severe damage to vineyards in western Europe, the world's largest wine-growing area.

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“In the European Union, extreme weather events – from frost to drought – significantly impacted 2017 wine production, which was historically low,” said the OIV in a report on its estimations for wine production for this year.

Sharp drops in the world’s top three wine producing countries -  Italy, France and Spain - were largely responsible for the overall drop around the world.

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Outside of Europe, the United States, the world's fourth-largest producer, is predicted by the OIV to have held up better, with just a slide of 1 percent to 23.3 mhl.

But those figures could change as the forecast was based on US government estimates made before the outbreak of wildfires in California that ravaged two of the state's top wine producing areas: the Napa Valley and Sonoma County, the OIV noted.