Frost strikes again in the Loire valley in 2019

hot air turbine loire wine tours

Once again frost has struck the Loire valley. 2 nights ago growers lit the burners in the vineyards, turned on the aspersion and cranked up the hot air turbines. The helicopters went up in Montlouis sur Loire as locals spent a sleepless night outside hoping that the preventative measures would be enough to see off too much damage to the tender buds.

For some, it worked. Others will see a big reduction in yield. Growers in Montlouis sur Loire have been particularly affected which is awful news. They have suffered from frost or hail for 5 years out of the last 7 making it hard to bare. Growers in the Layon valley have suffered as well as those in Muscadet. It seems that Vouvray came off better as did Saumur Champigny.

Our thoughts go to the growers who have been affected. You can support them by opening a bottle of Loire valley wine this weekend.